Underwater Savior
by LadyRainStarDragon
Summary: On Chihiro's third birthday, she falls into the local river. A mysterious entity saves her. Unknown to them both, a plot unfolds to destroy the river. Can the entity keep her safe? Prequel to 'P.O.A.R.' fixed 7
1. Underwater Saviour

Underwater Savior

By LadyRainStarDragon

Rating: PG-13 / T for violence, occasional coarse language, and dangerous situations.

Not mine. I can only wish.

Chapter 1: Watery Meeting

* * *

Chihiro had turned three today. To celebrate, her family had rented a boat to ride on the river. Lily and her parents were to be there too. Grandfather was sick today, and so wasn't going, although he sent his love. She was very excited about her big day.

Usually, her parents kept her as far from the swift-flowing river as possible, especially when it had rained. She made it a point to wander down to the banks every time she could though. Something there just drew her, like bees to honey or a moth to a flame. Today however, she would be going out on the river.

"Chihiro, hurry up honey."

Chihiro grinned and ran for her mother. Looking up at the brown-haired woman from the general vicinity of her waist, she thought that there was little so beautiful as the brown-eyed woman above her. Wrapping tiny, chubby arms about one long leg, the child buried her face into the cool fabric. Her mother in turn hugged her then placed her in the boat.

"Here are your shoes. Hold on to them so they don't get lost."

Chihiro held tightly to her shoes and wondered why her mother only spoke to her to tell her what to do. Lily's mom talked to her all the time and told her how she loved both Lily and Chihiro. Nary a word about love come from her own mother like that though. Maybe Mommy should take some time off from her job. A sudden jolt brought the child out of her musings, and she looked at her plumping father as he spoke.

"Well, we're all here, we're off!"

The sturdy and reliable boat nosed out to the middle of the river, and the two families went down the river to enjoy the view. Lunches had been packed for a picnic at their landing point. Chihiro looked at her mother and noticed how calm she looked. 'Huh? I wonder why mom doesn't trust the river. She sure hides it good.'

"The rains sure have risen the water level this year. The rice farmers downstream of here should have a good year." It was Mr. Tanaka, Lily's dad, who was American by birth, which was a long story in and of itself. Blond hair twinkled in the sun as grey eyes admired the view around him.

Chihiro leaned her head over to peer into the water. It felt like something was watching her. For just a moment, she could have sworn she saw two surprised jade green eyes blink up at her. This was followed by a quick flash of silver. Surprised, one of her shoes fell into the river.

"My shoe!" She reached to grab for it, before it was swept away from her.

"Chihiro! No!"

"Chihiro!"

"'Hiro!"

Splash! She must have reached too far, because she was underwater. She didn't know how to swim, her mother had always made it a point to do her best to keep her away from any water larger than a bathtub. Air bubbled up out of her nose and mouth, but for some reason, she wasn't scared. Water never scared her.

The green eyes came back, and they reminded Chihiro of the necklace her mom wore on special occasions. As they grew closer, she saw a hint of worry in them. She then saw what those entrancing eyes were attached to. A white water dragon! She had seen one recently in one of her grandfather's books of stories that he would read to her sometimes. This dragon looked exactly like the one in the book! What had the dragon been called? Oh yeah, Nigihayami Kohakunushi.

The dragon pulled up beside her, and then slipped beneath her. Instinctively, she grabbed his horns. It was a male, although she didn't know how she knew. Her legs clamped around his sides to further hold on, and he seemed to shiver. Maybe he wasn't used to human contact. Grandfather had said that dragons often hid from humans now.

They were headed up towards the surface, and finally her head broke above the water. The dragon had only from his eyes up above the surface, to see where he was taking his young charge. Faintly in the distance he could hear the shouts of her family. Putting on a burst of speed, he reached the bank. Getting out of the water, he turned into a young man and carried her from the shallows to the shore itself.

Eyes that were jade pools filled with relief turned on her as he set her down, and she realized she had seen this man before somewhere. There was something about the intricacy of his clothing that screamed he was more than not normal, as if being a dragon wasn't abnormal enough.

His clothing was in the formal old style, and so ornate as to leave no doubt in the child's mind that he was an important personage. Rapids chased over his arms and chest, laced about the collar and end hems with fields of gold and green waves. Hakama that were an ever changing shade of blue gently flowed around his legs, stirring slightly in a non-existent breeze. A glimmer of amethyst winked at his waist, an obi to keep his clothing in proper order. Wooden sandals were all but unnoticed as they graced his feet in simple elegance. The midnight river itself seemed to flow down his back, silky smooth, and Chihiro was hard pressed not to reach out and touch it. In one hand, he held a simple wood staff, and the other grasped a tiny and very dry pink shoe.

"You should be more careful, Chihiro. Shoes can be replaced, but your parents would never be able to replace you. The river is running swifter than usual because of the rains you know."

With that, he handed Chihiro her shoe.

Chihiro blinked. When had he gotten her shoe? She accepted the offered shoe, dazed an not fully taking in anything around her, producing a rather disjointed effect for her consciousness.

"Thank you. What's your name? How did you know my name?"

"I am called Nigihayami Kohakunushi. Kohaku or Haku is fine. I have known you since you were very small. Your parents are coming."

"My mom doesn't want me to be anywhere by myself. Can you sit with me until she gets here?"

The young man nodded and sat down beside her. Chihiro felt very safe. After a while, she saw her parents and her friend's family.

"Chihiro! O, thank the Kami you're okay!" Her dad was suddenly very emotional, and it unnerved her a little to see that.

"Chihiro! What were you thinking? You could have drowned!" Uh-oh, mom sounded pretty mad.

"It's ok mom and dad. Kohaku saved me and brought me to shore."

She turned around to point at him, but he was gone.

"But . . . he was right here!"

The adults shook their heads and muttered something about hallucinations and washing up on shore. The picnic was taken right there. From the shallow, hidden in the swirls of water, a white dragon with piercing jade eyes smiled and watched.

'It has been a long time. You have certainly grown, Chihiro.'


	2. The Nature of Nature and the Dragon’s Pe...

Underwater Savior

Chapter 2: The Nature of Nature and the Dragon's Pearl

By LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

* * *

"'Hiro! Why did you fall in?"

"I dropped my shoe while thinking."

"Is that why your mom is mad?"

"I don't know Lily. Lately it seems like my mom is mad all the time. Especially after I've visited Grandpa."

Two children chatted idly where they sat. The sun glinted off of their messy hair, one head an earthy brown, the other a natural platinum color. Greyed eyes and sapphire eyes thoughtfully contemplated the flow of the river as children are wont to do. Neither of the children had any idea why Lily was such a pale child, even though her father had been adopted into his family. That was a messy story, so maybe it had something to do with the fact her father was pale too.

The adults were still busy eating. After Mr. Tanaka had checked out the little cove that they had beached in, he had declared it safe for them to play in. It was, oddly enough, very gentle in current flow here. The girls were sitting on a large rock a foot from shore, dipping their feet in and talking. Unknown to them, they had a spectator.

"Maybe it's just jealousy. Mom says that she feels like that sometimes after I tell her what a good day I've had with Sitter."

"Maybe, it's just with Grandpa though. Especially if he's told me any of the stories about the river, or the Kami that lives in it. She says it's all superstitious nonsense."

Kohaku growled to himself about that.

"Well I think it's real. I bet that it was the Kami who saved you. Because your mom doesn't believe in him, that why he didn't stick around."

The kid was smart. He didn't like to stay where people didn't believe in him. Honestly, he didn't think anyone would want to stay where they weren't wanted.

"Maybe. I'll have to ask Grandpa the right way to thank a Kami. Maybe he can help me, since I know mom won't. She's always busy, and dad will just keep watching TV as soon as he gets home from work."

Kohaku wondered what her home life must be like if her mother was always busy and her father just watched this TV she spoke of. From what he could remember, all the families that he had watched interacted with the members very regularly. He smelled something coming that made his nostrils burn. Someone was wearing way too much perfume. The smell of artificial flowers threatened to engulf him, so he dipped his nose underwater.

"Chihiro! Get away from there! You almost drown and you're back in the icky water!"

"But mom, it was my fault, not the water's. The water isn't icky!"

"Honey, all nature is icky and uncontrollable. Rivers are full of bugs, and trash, and bacteria, and germs, and slimy frogs, and fish, and algae." Mrs. Ogino shuddered at the thoughts. She hated not being in control, and hated being dirty.

His river wasn't full of trash. It was quite clean and he kept it so. The bugs he could see, but they were part of the ecosystem, just like everything else, and he made sure that things stayed in balance. Besides, the human body was filled with more gross things than were in his river, which was very nice. And it was quite controllable in his opinion.

"Mrs. Ogino, look, the water is so clear. How can it be dirty?"

"It just is Lily. Now, why don't you girls come back and we'll all play a nice game of I spy."

Somehow, Kohaku really didn't like this woman. This was the first time he'd even gotten close to her, and already, she annoyed him greatly. He watched as the girls trod sadly back over to the adults. He did not see how Koji's little boy could have been attracted to this person, but he thought that perhaps she had not been this way when they had met. He would give her the benefit of the doubt for now. If she harmed his Chihiro in any way though, there would be consequences for her, mother or not. He curled up in a hollow in the bank to wait.

Chihiro didn't want to leave the water. It felt so good there, like someone was watching out for her. However, mother had made it very clear that it was time to go back to the boring adults. All they seemed to talk about was politics, something called the economy, cooking, or what schools they wanted to send the children to once they were old enough. The Tanaka's would play tag and such with her sometimes at least though. Her own mom and dad were too caught up in the business world to play such childish games.

Mrs. Tanaka noticed how sullen the girls seemed as they came back from the river. "Would you girls like a story? I know one about the river if you'd like to hear it."

Kohaku's head popped up. Lily's mother wanted to tell a story about him? This would be interesting, at least he wouldn't be bored while waiting for the family to finish. He would be sticking with them until his young charge was back in her own area safely. The dragon was sorely tempted to peek, but thought better of it as it would just be his luck to be spotted.

"Really Charlotte, I think that another subject would be better." Mrs. Ogino seemed quite strained about something. Kohaku peeped anyway. You could never tell with humans anymore. Besides, he was still angry with the human female for not holding on to her pup, and would love to see her aggravated.

The girls squealed in glee. Amused, Kohaku thought that they looked rather like chicks straining to grab the worm from their mother's beak. All they needed was to start cheeping.

"Tell us! Oh, please, please, please, please!"

A smile now curled his lips. The image was complete. Kids still looked pretty much the same no matter what era you were in, or what specie they were.

"A long time ago, it is said that the Kami of this river used to interact with the farmers and fishers of the area often. He was very benevolent, keeping the children safe from drowning and quite healthy. The rice paddies flourished with the water that he brought from a sacred spring at the base of the mountains said to be populated by a fertility spirit. The fish living in his river were fat and tasty. The Kami loved to play with the young children, and would often been seen doing so when he could take time from his duties. His very favorite activity was playing music for them to dance to.

"He was often offered young maidens to take as brides, for the folk thought that he must be very lonely as he played with the children so much. He always sent them home untouched, as they had not passed a test they would not speak of, but always arrived with a gift that made the family rich. One day though, a kitsune family had sent him a prospective bride. They had taken offense at his spurning of their eldest and most beautiful daughter. While the Kami slept in his dragon form, the father of the girl stole his most precious possession. The dragon's Celestial Pearl granted him the ability to return to Heaven when he needed. Without it, he was stranded to the lower realms until such time as he could retrieve it.

"When the Kami awoke, he was most distressed to find that this is what had been stolen from him. The kitsune had left behind a false image to tell the Kami that for his ways the Pearl would be kept from him until such time as he would claim someone to be his bride. At that time, the Pearl would be returned. A warning was also left that the Celestial Pearl would not be in a form that he expected it.

"It is said that he still searches for his Pearl to this day. Some say that this is merely a story explaining the abandoning of the Kami's Shrine. Other's say the story is much more."

"That's a sad story. Will he ever find his Pearl?"

Chihiro's mother had had enough. "Don't be silly Chihiro. It's just a story. Well, are we ready to head home?"

Kohaku ducked back down. This Mrs. Tanaka knew a story that he hadn't heard in a long time. Yes, it had indeed happened. It had nothing to do with abandoning the Shrine though, that had happened much later. The Pearl's loss hadn't prevented him from performing his duties, just restrained him from entering heaven to speak with his betters when the occasion warranted. It was a bit of a pride thing as well though. He snorted, blowing a few bubbles in the water. He heard the thrum of an electric motor, and followed at a short distance, careful of the sharp blades. As he swam, he tried to think of how this Charlotte Tanaka could know of him. He would ask his Priest later.

After a bit, the boat reached the dock upstream near where the families lived. Kohaku took advantage of the wooden structure and hid under it as well as he could. Camouflage never hurt anything, unless it got ran over. He watched as Chihiro and Lily clambered out of the boat as best they could, then ran up the slight hill to tell Chihiro's grandfather all about their day on the river. He was sad to see them go. Paying no attention to the adults, he slid through the water to his own home, to sit and ponder why he felt this way until he could go to Koji tonight.


	3. The Dragon and His Treasures

Underwater Savior

Chapter 3: The Dragon and His Treasures

By LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

* * *

The dragon stirred uneasily in his sleep. Memories that he had long suppressed began to well up within his mind. Finding no way to quell them, he stilled, and allowed them to run their course. For him alone, centuries rolled back.

"Kohaku, Kohaku! Play it again! Please?" The chorus of children's voices was music to his ears and balm to an aching heart. Why he ached, he never knew, he always had. Adjusting himself on the hard rock, he began the song again as the children danced beneath swaying branches. He loved to watch them dance, to see the colors flicker across the little pearls and jewels buried deep within their beings. They were his friends and his charges. Not yet had these little treasures been tainted by greed, malice, or envy.

The sound of a cracking stick underfoot caused the song to die as the river God spun around, prepared to defend his treasures against any oni. What greeted his eyes was a lovely kitsune woman, dressed as a bride. Her face was painted pale and eyes dark, ruby lips in a slight pout. Fiery red hair was upswept into an elegant bun, decorated with leaves of the forest. She was beautiful, but something was not quite right.

"Pardon me good sir, but I am searching for Nigihayami Kohakunushi-sama. Would you be able to help me?"

'Now why in all of Nippon would a kitsune be searching for me?'

"I am he."

Her features lit up, as if someone had lit a candle in the midst of the dark. "My Lord, I am so happy to have found you at last. I have been sent by my father to be your bride."

'Oh no, not another one. When will everyone realize that I don't want a bride right now.'

Instead of groaning, he smiled.

"How nice of him. I'm afraid that you will have to pass a test first though."

A tugging at his hakama directed his attention downward.

"Kohaku, who is the pretty fox?"

Kohaku crouched down to be eye level with the young girl.

"I don't know Tama. She hasn't said yet. After we find out, would you and your brothers and sisters go to help your mothers? Next time we play I will bring you some of the polished pebbles from the middle of the river that you like so much."

The little girl nodded her assent.

Straightening once more, he looked back at the kitsune, only to find her scowling in distaste.

"You mean you actually associate with those mortals? How can you stand it?"

He felt anger, and that took a lot for such a peaceful deity. How could anyone hold their mortality against them? It was something he could never understand.

"Yes, I do _play_ with the children. It is very simple. I like to hear their laughter and see their joy. Now, I do believe that I need to know your name."

"My name is Tsukaimono. I am the eldest daughter of a youkai family that the ningen have asked to watch over their rice fields many days journey distant."

He stooped down to the child's level again.

"You heard her name, right, sukoshi takara?"

The child nodded.

"Then it is time for you to go. Tell the villagers that I send my regards."

The child grinned and hugged the young Kami, then bounded off, racing the others home.

"Well, now that the little children are gone, why don't you spend some time with me?"

"Are you ready for the test so soon?"

Tsukaimono fluttered her lashes and looked demure.

"Anything my Lord wishes."

Kohakunushi restrained a sigh. As a dragon, the core of an entity's being would look like a jewel or other treasure to him. This is usually why some dragons tended to hoard treasure, if one disregarded the fact that when the jewels stuck between scales it afforded some extra armor. It reminded them of the treasures they saw in other beings. Kohaku was partial to pearls, white ones at that. He loved the purity of them. What he was looking for was someone who's purity resembled his Celestial Pearl. He wanted someone to love him for himself, not merely wanting to be with him because he was the local river Kami. Unfortunately, everyone so far had either been tainted, or not a pearl soul at all.

"I need to see your core. Close your eyes and focus on your energy center."

The woman looked like she was going to protest, then complied. After a while, a treasure rose before him. It was a glittering ruby. Lovely and deep red, filled with an inner fire it beckoned to him. A beautiful soul indeed, except as the jewel rotated, he saw a large flaw. Encased within the surface was a mottled brown color, a sign of envy. Definitely not the glimmering Pearl he sought to stay by him and to commune with.

"Enough. Now draw this energy back into yourself."

When the kitsune woman opened her eyes, the Kami was gone. At her feet lay an exquisite cooking pot and next to it a piece of fine paper bearing some writing. She picked it up and read it.

With this, you and your family will never thirst,

even in times of drought. You were not what I

seek, but I do wish you the best in finding a

husband more suitable to yourself than I.

It was signed with the chop of Nigihayami Kohakunushi.

"I understand Kohaku. I just hope for your sake that father does. Thank you for the gift, and a chance at a life of my own."

With that, she turned and came back the way she had come, carrying her gift. Kohakunushi stepped back out of his river, checking the area for any toys that the children, his little treasures may have forgotten.

Time went on fast forward for the sleeping dragon and he was hurled full force into a memory that had come only a few days after having met with Tsukaimono.

The moon was high and lit the village nicely. It was quiet, and the only thing to be heard was his own light breathing as he slept shallowly beside the humble hut, a pearl clutched in one claw. This is where the Ogino family lived, the guardians of his shrine. Their youngest child had been attacked by a demon, and he was now standing guard himself in case it tried again. He was in his dragon form, and for the past two days he had been here in his dragon form, to the children's delight. They had draped him in flowers as their thanks for watching over their friend.

A stirring in the grasses woke him from his light slumber. Looking around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, nor did he smell anything out of the ordinary. He passed it off as the wind, and resumed his patient waiting. Instead of staying in the half-sleep realm though, he found himself submerged in deep waves of hibernation. It only lasted a short time, and when he clawed his way to the surface, he knew he had been too trusting.

His eyes popped open and before him stood a middle-aged kitsune male. The three tails told the young dragon that this spirit had been around a long time. Strangely though, this image was see-through.

"Dragon, you scorn me by turning away my daughter and giving her a measly cooking pot."

"She is not what I am looking for. I'm not even ready to take on a partner. That measly cooking pot you refer to is enchanted to never run dry, even in the middle of a drought."

"Regardless, you turned her away and left her with a small gift."

"At least I was thinking about her future. A marriage between a dragon and kitsune would not work. She should find her true mate, and that small gift will make her a rich woman."

"I can not change what I have done, dragon. I have taken your precious Pearl while you were in the magic sleep I cast upon you. Your arguments have only just barely prevented me from destroying it. For spurning a gift sent to you I have taken from you. Only by placing a claim on a woman as your own will you be given access to your Pearl again. It may or may not be in the form you expect it. Rest assured though dragon, I will no longer attack the family under your protection."

It had been him. That kitsune was the one who hurt little Tama. Why did he settle for taking the Celestial Pearl instead of his life? With a roar of confusion and fury, Kohakunushi awoke from his dreams.

* * *

Word Key

Tsukaimono - gift

youkai - demon, ghost, apparition, specter, phantom

ningen - human

sukoshi - little

takara - treasure

kitsune - fox spirit

tama - jewel

Nippon - Japan


	4. The Lonely Dragon Losing His Heart

Underwater Savior

Chapter 4: The Lonely Dragon Losing His Heart.

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

* * *

Under the light of the moon, the young river Kami strode up to the unassuming house beside the river. Here lived his Priest, though he still saw no need of one. It had been a very long time since anyone had needed to offer tribute to him. A few of the old families still did, true, so perhaps it was they who felt the need. At any rate, tonight he would be glad to talk out his problems. A friend and confidante who was not obsessed with women was what he needed this night. A slender hand reached out to tap the door, seeming to glow with the moonlight.

The door was duly opened, the man's eyes widening slightly at seeing who his late night visitor was. Quietly, he beckoned him in, dark hakama shifting along with white haori with the gentle movement. In the light from an oil lamp, salt and pepper hair was revealed, as well as a face beginning to show the wear of the years. Closing the door behind, the Priest motions for silence, creeping across the small main room to peek through a door held just ajar. Nodding sagely, he silently shut the door once more. Indicating two cushions on the wooden floor he finally broke the silence.

"Please, have a seat. Forgive my rudeness, but I wished to check on my granddaughter without disturbing her sleep."

Kohakunushi snapped to attention. This was entirely unexpected. Shouldn't she be with her parents?

"Why is she not with her mother and father?"

Koji sighed. "They had another fight, and both left the house to think. Akio brought her here to be taken care of. He thought the quiet would be better for her after her experience today. The only other alternative would be the Tanaka's, and then neither of the girls would go to sleep."

"I see."

"I assume you did not come here just to check on Chihiro. There is something pressing on your mind, is there not my Lord?"

The door that Koji had shut so carefully inched open, and the girl in question toddled out. Glaring pink suit pajamas scorched the Kami's eyes, but still she toddled on. The pair of men watched as the girl entered the kitchen and strove to reach the faucet. Finally, in her desire she pushed over a chair. Having finally managed to win the coveted spout of water, the shrine-child saw that there was no glass for her to drink from. Kneeling carefully on the sink, she allowed the water to flow into her cupped hands, and drank that way. Smiling a sleepy smile, the turned off the water and replaced the chair to its proper position.

The child continued to her door, paused a moment to stretch and yawn, then she went in. The door shut behind her, then there was a thump as she went to flop on her futon. The thump was a little too loud though, and both men found themselves rising to check on the child. What they found was Chihiro, sound asleep on the floor just within the passage of the door, nowhere near her futon.

"Is that a normal occurrence for her?"

"No, she almost never sleepwalks. Must have been quite a day, falling into a river and all."

Koji smirked at the Kami, an eyebrow rose in question.

"It must have been."

Silence fell between them, and the Kami found himself the one moving first to carry her to her futon and cover her. A strange feeling to him, having only played with children, never providing care save for medicines on occasion. The strange feeling within his heart grew and warmed. Perhaps he would someday like to care for more young in this manner. For now, it was enough to care for this being.

The men left the child's room, shutting the door once more.

"That's love that you are feeling."

The young god raised an eyebrow, a signal for continuance and explanation.

"I saw it fill your eyes and light your face as you held her. It makes the eyes grow bright and the chest warm. Love fills the mind and even as it ebbs, the echoes still fill any being that has ever felt it."

The Kami fell into deep thought. A frown marred his face.

"So that's not all that is bothering you. If you tell someone, it often makes the burden seem lighter."

"I had that dream again, but this time, upon waking, the name I roared wasn't Tama's. I roared for Chihiro. Tama was there in the dream, but upon waking, it was Chihiro."

"Do you think this a premonition, or perhaps just the result of what could have happened if not for you to Chihiro."

"I don't know Koji. I just don't know."

Koji produced tea from a table in the corner of the room which Kohakunushi had not noticed.. They drunk the tea in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Strange how such a solemn mood could lie between two friends, when just on the other side of a thin door, a child lay sleeping. The child could dream the dreams of children while a Priest worried about a god, and said Kami was worrying about his charge. Said Kami felt very old and lonely at this time

"Koji, may I stay here tonight?"

Koji understood where the Kami was coming from. He often was lonely as well. It was a problem that came with age, the young setting aside the old in this new time of progress.

"Of course, I will bring out another futon and blanket. Will you be by the mini-shrine tonight, or would you prefer to be near her door?"

"Near her door."

Indeed, that is where he stayed that night. Sleep eluded him after his nightmare, but he could still rest hearing her soft breathing through her door. He would be there to protect the little pearl from whatever may befall during the night. To calm his nerves, he produced his flute and began playing an ancient lullaby which few even remembered the words to now. Though sleep would elude him, he could bring enjoyment from the sweet dreams the young child would have. That would be enough, to watch over her as he had her ancestors and would with her descendants.

Above the unassuming house, the pale stars glimmered, while the river murmured as it ran by.


	5. The Envied, the Sorcerer and the Possess...

Underwater Savior

Chapter 5: The Envied, the Sorcerer and the Possessor

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

* * *

In an office building overlooking the river, a middle aged kitsune with dark green eyes sat at his desk, drawing plans for an apartment complex. More housing was needed in the area, but in order to do this, more usable land had to be obtained. With the filling in of the river that he was planning, the needs would be met. This housing was supposed to be affordable for the poor people, so he was really going to have to be careful of a particular individual making the rent expensive.

This business venture had something more to it though. The Kami of the river had to be taken into account. It was well known among the spirits that this Kami did not want to settle down. Others his own age had already done so. Kohakunushi however, had turned away every bride that had been offered to him. He had even turned away the human brides that had once been offered to him in the long ago. If the river was taken away, the Kami would be forced into the Spirit World. Once there, hopefully he would meet a spirit that caught his fancy. Ni was very tired of guarding the treasure he had once robbed a dragon of.

In exasperation, a broad hand ran through short dark hair. Invisibly, his four tails swished as he worked out the tension from sitting all day at his desk with his drafts.

It was once a common thing for the spirits to dally with the humans, producing many legends. Offspring were among those legends. In modern times however, the spirits did not mingle as freely. Some had lost the ability to get into the Spirit World and so lived in hiding, sometimes taking human mates and faking death or disappearance when the time had come. Others stayed in that other world, refusing or unable to return to the mortal world. The only ones able to freely travel were either enshrined or spirits of the greater rivers, seas, and other such creatures.

This particular kitsune was among those that could no longer return to the other side. He had chosen long ago to remain in this world, seeing that the humans needed to be cared for. Their race was so young compared to his own, and would make its own mistakes. Although he had passed on the position of local Inari god to one of his offspring, he still cared enough to help fix the mistakes. He just hoped that this plan would work.

After pausing to gaze out the window at the lovely view and flexing cramped fingers, he returned to his work. The sun had set, and the colors were fading from the sky.

* * *

Much further upriver, Kohakunushi had long arisen from where he had spent the night. After helping Koji prepare a breakfast to be waiting for Chihiro, he had left. Leaving the small home, he had walked along the river, unseen. All day he had wandered his banks, feeling that something was going to happen.

Kohakunushi now found himself slipping back into his river, melding once more with the waters, knowing exactly where they were going and which fields were actively drawing water at the time. However, instead of feeling at peace, a sense of danger was slowly filling his being. He wasn't sure, but it was almost like something was going to happen to his river in the near future.

* * *

Down the hall, in a similarly sparse office as Ni's sat what appeared to be your average Japanese man. He was slight of build, with almond shaped brown eyes and short black hair. However, this man was very different, he had a secret. He was a practitioner of witchcraft, an inu-gami-mochi. Not the European or American varieties of magic, his was ancient Japanese dog magic. Yes, His family had a dog spirit that had been passed down from father to son for generations. His family had prospered, but was ostracized from the community because of the rumors of the dark magic.

Chisen thought about the legend of how the family had acquired the dog spirit. Once a faithful family pet, his owner had become prey to the greed in his own heart. Dogs were reputed to bring their owner treasure, and so the own had killed the dog to enslave it's spirit. The dog was buried up to his neck in the earth, and tempting treats had been placed all around by the Ainu man, but just out of the dog's reach. The formerly beloved pet starved to death, and was bound into fetching for the family forever. Having died in such a horrible way then being treated as but a mere slave in the afterlife, the dog slowly became very malevolent. Now it was only employed only with the utmost of care and only when something was truly very difficult to obtain.

Chisen was himself also very greedy, having enjoyed the riches that his family had gained over the generations and having every little favor returned to him with interest. Those who still believed in magic greatly feared him. However, he also did not spend his wealth wisely, and so found himself with a common office job to finish meeting ends. He wanted more, and he knew what to do. He wanted the deed to the apartments that were going to be constructed, and would get them with help. Then he would be able to collect the rent for himself.

Chisen's work was finished for the day (it didn't help any that he was lazy) and so he grabbed his jacket and exited his office. Passing by the office of his boss, he poked his head in.

"Done Boss."

"On your way home?"

"Hai."

"Don't forget to punch out."

Chisen smirked at himself. Ni truly was a stupid man. As if he would forget to punch out. Last time he had, he had been docked way too many yen for him to do it again. Walking by the clock, he punched out as ordered and headed out the door. He would take the train home. He didn't feel like walking the distance when the train was so much faster. All the more time to prepare for the summoning ceremony. Before boarding the train, he picked up some salt and a few joss sticks.

Later that night, after he had had his dinner, Chisen went out into his backyard. Carefully using the salt to trace a pentacle on the ground before the Jizo, he made a safe place for him to be during the conjuring. This he ringed with five candles, one on each point of the star. In a small bowl directly before the Jizo he placed some fresh meat, with a lit joss stick beside it. Going back inside the ring, he lit the candles and began to chant.

After many rounds of chanting, a cloud of mist began to issue from the Jizo. It consumed the offertory meat greedily and slowly congealed at the edge of the circle. Two golden eyes peered out of the smoke. As the mist blew away, it revealed a large white dog.

"What do you wish of me, master?"

"Within a year, the Kohaku river will be destroyed and an apartment complex will be built. I want the deed."

The dog spirit cocked his head to one side. "Would it not be better to wait until it is constructed, and then take the deed?"

"You will make sure it happens, then bring it to me. However you must do."

Greed smiled. This newest master was truly stupid to leave such an important thing wide open for his interpretation. He would be free in this generation it seemed and the family would have come to an end. Such a price they would pay for their treachery.

"As you wish."

The mist swirled and collected once again, then dispersed. Where once the dog had stood, there was nothing. Chisen swept away the salt and extinguished the candles. Picking them up, he took them back inside. He would use them again another time.

A golden set of eyes watched as his "master" did a terrible job of cleaning up. Apparently the father had not taught the son how to properly end. The candles being brought inside the house would make it so much easier for him to escape. A tall human form with long white hair and gold eyes stepped forth from the shadows.

"Watch out for an old dog, master. It is the old ones who are wise enough to overthrow you. I will be free and take back the few treasures you haven't squandered. There is only one kitoshi in the area, and I could easily defeat him."

* * *

Time passed. Kohaku still kept an eye on the strange child that had fallen into him. Chihiro often would slip away to play by his banks. Sometimes she would have her friend with her, other times not. He would have to watch her carefully, she seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble.

A few times she came too close to the water for his comfort. During those times he would come out and play with her. Sometimes he would play his flute, but most of the time they played tag. Try as he might, even though it had been months, he could not shake the foreboding feeling. Kohakunushi knew that something would happen to him, then there would be no one to protect his little Chihiro.

* * *

Words

Chisen - composite name meaning bloody wizard or bloody hermit here.

Inu-gami-mochi- Literally dog god possessor. Typically is a female passing ownership down to the next female. In this story, we had the odd male one instead.

Inari - rice

Jizo- Buddhist road deity, represented by a phallic shaped rock.

Kitoshi- Buddhist or Shinto exorcist. Usually a man, but can sometimes be a woman.


	6. Why?

Underwater Savior

Chapter 6: Why?

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

* * *

Chihiro had snuck her way down to the river again. She was going to be in such trouble with her mom when she was found out. Really, Chihiro was pretty sure anybody her own age would sneak out and do something. Anything was better than playing quietly in her room while mommy was working. Even tripping would make enough noise to make her mom claim she didn't want her to work.

Lily was gone to visit her grandparents for a while, so Chihiro was rather lonely. Sure, she knew all the other kids in town, but she didn't really consider any others friends. Mostly they bullied her because they were older. Oh well, she'd rather walk down by the river anyway. Chihiro paused to sit on a rock and look around.

The sky was so blue today, she thought of a sapphire she had seen in the museum the Tanakas had taken her to visit once. The occasional fluffy white cloud drifted by on currents high up in the sky. She couldn't quite understand that concept, but thought they were similar to a river. At least, it's the way she thought of it. The grass was a lovely green, due to the water that it rarely had shortage of. The leaves on the trees were a lovely green as well, but soon enough they would begin to turn. She could hear the river rushing happily along, yet the longer she was there, she heard it begin to change. She wondered if rivers could take note of who was near them. It was beginning to sound . . . amused?

Closing her eyes, she leaned back slightly to listen to the wind. She liked how it felt as it danced by her cheeks, and loved to feel the sun warm her. Shortly, the temperature dropped a little bit. She wondered who would be blocking her sun when everyone was busy or gone.

Opening her eyes, she noticed that there definitely was a shadow falling across her. She also found herself looking at the sun blockage.

"Wandering off again today, are we?"

"Mom's working again. So, I came out here so that she can have quiet."

"Alone? Where is your father?"

"The office."

Kohakunushi sat down beside the child and placed his staff across his knees. It was beginning to look like another day of keeping an eye on Chihiro. There was no way that he was going to let her wander around without a chaperone. He'd seen the strange dog again earlier that day. It was beginning to look rather hungry. He didn't want to find out if this dog demon liked human flesh.

"What about your friend's family? You could go play over there. I would be happy to walk you there."

Chihiro's face fell and she shook her head. "They've gone to visit Lily's grandma."

"Oh."

Kohakunushi was definitely going to be spending his day with Chihiro. His original plans had been to walk alongside the river observing its surface and shores, and to keep an eye on the forest for a bit. He couldn't really put off this patrol any longer.

"Would you like to come with me on my walk?"

An hour later, a young man in ornate kimono could be seen holding the hand of a very young child. Even though it could be seen he was walking much slower than his usual pace, it still had an odd elegance. The slightly chubby child next to him would occasionally gaze up at him in awe. To anybody watching, it would be obvious this man once walked with small ones often. He could pass off as a professional babysitter if there were more male babysitters.

"Where are we going?"

"Walking along the river for a bit."

"Why?"

"To observe it."

"Do you have to do it often?"

"Yes."

Chihiro was quiet for a bit. She wondered why he would have to walk the river often. She remembered meeting him in the water, not beside it.

"Do you live in the water?"

He stopped and regarded the human child. Very smart of her, he thought. He had never come out and told her that he lived in the river. He hadn't even actually told her that he was a river spirit.

"You could say that."

"So then you have to check both the river and the shores for garbage, to keep your home clean, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you tell people where you live? I'm sure that people would be more respectful of your home if they knew it was inhabited."

Where was this coming from all of a sudden? When they took walks together, she usually just enjoyed the scenery or talked him into letting her ride on his back.

"It's not that simple. Most people wouldn't understand anymore."

"Why?"

He picked the child up. The teachers would just love her when she got to school. He could picture her interrupting the whole class progression with that one question. For some reason, it brought him more hope in humanity.

"How many people do you know who live in a river?"

"Just you."

"Don't you think others would find it odd?"

Chihiro shook her head.

"I'll explain when you're older then if Koji doesn't beat me to it. For now, just enjoy the fact that you see what is. Now then, let's speed this up a little so that we can get some lunch into you."

With that, he picked her up and put her on his hip. Chihiro automatically snuggled into him and yawned widely, causing the young Kami to laugh as they set off.

"And then it's nap time for you."

A snapping twig caused him to suddenly become quiet. Turning in the direction the noise had come from, he could neither see or sense anything out of the ordinary. Pointing himself towards Koji's home, Kohakunushi silently hoped he was just being paranoid. He was still going to have a talk with the Priest however.

The further they went however, the more often he heard noises behind them. Soon, he began to smell the occasional whiff of dog. He was now quite sure he wasn't being paranoid. His pace increased, and his charge's head suddenly faced back the way they had come.

"There's something back there, isn't there Kohaku?"

One curt nod was his answer as he concentrated on getting Chihiro to where it was safe.

* * *

Back at the Ogino household, Chihiro's mother was sitting in her home office. Immersed in the report she was working on, she barely registered when the phone on her desk began ringing. After a minute, she noticed that there was a noise distracting her. Reaching out to silence it, her hand found the headset. Wondering when it had begun, she gingerly placed it to her ear.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Honey, are you sitting down?"

Confused as to why her husband would be calling her at 11:30 from work, she nodded her head before realizing he couldn't see it. "Hai."

"I just lost my job."

"Oh, well then we've got another two weeks to find you another. You didn't like that job anyway."

"No, I just lost my job. As of now. I was fired honey."

It was a good thing she was already sitting down. If she hadn't been she would have fallen and hurt herself. She was having trouble staying sitting up as it was. Confusion once again filled her.

"But why? You devoted your whole life to that job. Do all the late nights at the office mean nothing to them? What about the time you spend at home looking over files or trying to unwind in front of the TV, having no time for your daughter or wife? What about the fact that our whole lives depend on that paycheck?"

"The boss took all that into consideration honey. There is nothing he can do. It was voted on by the board. They felt that I posed a hazard to the future of the company. My severance pay is the equivalent of two months pay. All we can do now is pray that I can find a job before the time is up."

A snort of disdain reached Akio's ears through the phone.

"You and your old-fashioned ideas. Praying does nothing. The Gods are dead."

Abruptly, there was a click, then a steady drone assaulted his head. Gingerly, he nested the headset into the cradle once more and resumed packing up his office. He picked up a picture of he and his wife when they had first been dating in college. It had been taken before Yuukio's sister had drowned in a river on the other side of Japan.

"Where is the girl that I married? The one who insisted we visit every shrine in Tokyo and believed the Kami did all that they could? What if your sister hadn't drowned at all, but instead had been spirited away by the Kami of that river? Or is that why you are so bitter Wife?"

Carefully wrapping the picture and its frame in a bit of tissue, he placed this last treasured item in his box. Reverently picking it up, he moved to switch off the light. Defeated but not conquered, he left behind the office and the only job that he had known since his graduation. If only things were simple again, and he could talk to the friend he had once had before his classmates had called him a dreamer. Akio then mentally beat himself up for thinking of his childhood imaginary friend so wistfully.

Perhaps he would have been less hard on himself if he had realized that imaginary friend was real, and had spent so long protecting his precious daughter. A human can only do so much.

* * *

Koji was busy in the kitchen. He was having the oddest urge for fish, so he was busy cooking some. Fish did not normally appeal to him at all, it tasted fishy, and he always managed to miss a bone somewhere. Company must be coming. It was a good thing he was also making rice and tea.

The windows suddenly began to shake. Cups in the cupboards rattled and clanked. Spinning around, he saw the door thrown open, and a form hurtled through, only to turn about and slam the door shut. The form leaned on the door wearily as a smaller one disengaged from its side and slid down, running towards him with arms outspread. Things then stopped shaking about.

"Grandpa!"

"Chihiro! What are you doing here?"

Wrapping her arms around one of his legs, she began to tell him, nearly washing him away with the rapidity of her words.

"Mommy was busy working and wanted quiet so I snuck out to go play by the river. Then Kohaku found me and we went for a walk because he needed to survey the banks again. I got tired so he carried me. On our way here something started making funny noises behind us and he started acting funny, then he ran the whole way here and now here we are and he can run really fast!"

"Uh, okay." Koji struggled not to shake his head to clear it.

During this exchange, Kohakunushi had locked the door and put a barrier around the house while he was at it. He exchanged glances with the Priest.

"I'll tell you about it after Chihiro takes her nap. First we need to fill her belly."

Sniffing delicately, he continued.

"Please tell me that's real fish and not the fake fish that you served me last time. Tofu does not make good fish."

Koji looked sickened.

"I don't see how Yuukio could eat that stuff, much less think I could. It's definitely real fish."

Koji went about setting places and serving food. Unknown to him, but suspected by his Kami, a set of golden eyes watched through a window. Eyes that held a slight trace of red for not being able to break the barrier. Eyes filled for a lust of what they would do once he caught the river spirit with his guard down once more.


	7. Who is the Master, What is the Mission?

Underwater Savior

Chapter 7: Who is the Master, What is the Mission?

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Chihiro had finished her meal and went to lay down on the futon that her grandfather always had set up for her. She was very tired. The walk had been a long one for a little girl, then there was the added excitement of Kohaku's mad dash through the forest. She still didn't know what he had been trying to avoid, but trusted him completely. And at least she found out why he always carried a staff with him. It deflected stray branches very nicely. 

Laying her head on her pillow, she fell asleep in mid yawn.

Out in the main room, the two adults currently present in the girl's life were finally having the discussion they had been waiting for.

"So just why did you burst through my door like a mad man and put a barrier around the house? That's a bit out of character for you. Did you get chased by a female again?"

"I'm pretty sure that what chased me was male. I've been seeing a strange white dog lately. I think it might be a mononoke. The last time I saw it, it looked rather hungry. Something chased us through the woods, and I wasn't about to stay and see what it was with Chihiro with me. I think it was the dog spirit though."

"A vengeful spirit you say? There hasn't been one of those active in this area since my father's time."

"I said I think it was. I am not sure. I don't think it is a youkai though. It seems to hang around two buildings like it's been looking for something."

Kohakunushi began to massage one temple.

"One is the architectural company building, the other is the 'secret' medical research building."

"Well, that's rather worrisome."

Kohakunushi just looked at Koji with a deadpan face. Koji was always good at stating the obvious. Of course it was worrisome. A vengeful spirit without a master was not a pleasant thing. What if it decided to attack one of the humans in his protectorate? Even worse, what if it hurt Chihiro?

"So Kohaku, did it seem like it had a master or a mission?"

"I'm not sure. If it has a mission, it would have something to do with those buildings. It just seems to be overlooking something. If it had a master, I would think it would be doing something more active."

"Maybe. Maybe its got a weak master."

Koji seemed to be in deep thought.

"There are a few families with ties into sorcery of varying types. Most don't practice any more, wanting to be rid of old 'superstitions'. I can only think of two that might be able to summon a mononoke."

Kohakunushi leaned back and closed his eyes, both listening to Koji's words and trying to remember the families he might be talking about. He had seen so much in his life, most of it just jumbled together. Faces of the families blurred together, and families intermarried so much that the young kami had given up long ago trying to keep most of them straight. He only bothered anymore with the faithful families. Yes, he helped the ones who didn't pray to him also when he knew they needed help, he just didn't try to memorize them as much. It was just too confusing. He however could vaguely remember one family that had always stirred up trouble.

"If they are still around, there is a family of foxes. However, using other spirits to do their tasks conflicts with their code of honor. So that would cut out the Tsuni's. That would leave the Mahou's."

Something about that name clicked for Kohakunushi. There was a flash of a man and a white dog swimming in the river. The dog looked very similar to what he had been seeing. Then again, all large, white, fluffy dogs looked similar to him.

"The father passed away mysteriously a few years ago. He was survived by his young son. They used to be rich, but I hear he has been working to make ends meet just like everyone else now."

Another flash, this time of a different although clearly related man and the same dog near the river facing off. A mist swirled to envelope the two. Growls and screams resounded. When the mists cleared, both were gone, leaving only a shoe.

A banging on the door pulled Kohakunushi and Koji out of their respective musings. Koji rose and went over to it, looking through a window first to verify who it was. What he saw shocked him.

"Let down the barrier. I have to let in my son."

Surprised, Kohakunushi opened the barrier as Koji opened the door to let his beloved Akio in. Kohakunushi closed the barrier once more, unsure of if his pursuer was still outside, waiting for him to come out. It's not that he was afraid, he just was unsure of what he would be dealing with, and preferred to stand watch over those who he cared for until the time was right.

"Dad, I lost my job today. I've got to talk to someone. I don't know what to do."

Kohakunushi's eyes widened. Without a job, how was the family going to provide the needs of a growing girl? He had known that the economy in the area was bad, but he hadn't realized ii was so bad that the realty company was downsizing. It seemed people were always moving here. Then again, there also weren't any more jobs being created in the area either. Perhaps more of the families should return to their farming roots. Then there would at least be work for them.

Behind the house, a tall man with gold eyes and white hair smirked. He knew where there was a job opening the man could fill. He would just go and tell this man's wife where it was. It seemed that he could get someone close to the river to help in hurting it. Not only would he be able to rid himself of the family that betrayed and enslaved him, he would get revenge on the very spirit who had brought wealth to the Tsuni family and inspired in his former owner's heart such greed. Even if the kami was not aware of his own hand in the animal's fate, he would still get revenge. And just maybe if he could get his hands on the river's heart he could use it to gain a life of his own once more.

Mist swirled, then when it cleared, a large dog loped through the woods toward the Ogino residence.

* * *

Yuukio had been crying for a while now. She wasn't sure how long, but she knew she felt exhausted. Without her husband's income, how would they keep their home, and food on the table for Chihiro?

Yuukio herself did have an income of course. She wrote up reports for a firm in Tokyo. When she had been pregnant with Chihiro, she was willing to give up her career as a lawyer in order to focus on the baby. Instead, she had been talked into a part-time home office position. It worked well enough at first. As the time went on however, it took up more time and yet she got the same pay. At least there would be something.

Her own parents had passed away a long time ago, and her only sister shortly before Chihiro had been conceived. There was no one she could ask for help. Not like she was one to do so anyway, she just would have felt better to have someone to talk to.

She dried her eyes. Mourning was going to get her husband no where. Opening the newspaper up to the classified section, she began with the 'help wanted' section. Hopefully, she would be able to find some promising leads on a new job in there. With the both of them on the hunt, surely he would be able to get something. Sadly, everything seemed to be either too specialized or beneath him. Unless it was far away in the big city, requiring a move of course. In the paper, there only seemed to be one job suited for him. The medical research division was looking for office personnel it seemed. She wrote the information down on a large piece of paper that she labeled as 'job possibilities'.

As the scratching of her pen ceased, Yuukio noticed that the house was very quiet. Too quiet in fact. Surely Chihiro must be watching TV or playing in her room. Listening intently, not a sound was heard. Ice shot through her veins and dropped into her belly as fire shot up her torso.

"Chihiro?"

She wasn't in her room, nor the room Yuukio shared with Akio. Chihiro wasn't in the kitchen, or the bathroom. In the living room, the TV had obviously been off for a long time, as it was cold. Fearing the worst, she ran out the door.

"Chihiro! Where are you honey? Come out!"

Yuukio ran about the garden, looking under every shrub, behind every tree, even overturning a couple rocks in her frantic search.

"My baby! Please, come out!"

Only silence greeted the woman, mockingly as it accused her of letting her guard down. The very trees seemed to glower at her, as if they could not believe that she had let the child wander away on her own. The overturned rocks sat there, as if saying she should have been a better mother and paid more attention to her own daughter, who was now gone.

Yuukio sank to the earth, which gave her no comfort as it would have to a mother whose child had been kidnapped. Instead, it merely let the woman sit, wallowing in her own grief and guilt. The wallowing was not to last long however.

A cold nose was nudging the woman's arm. Taking her hands away from her hands yet again, she was greeted by the sight of a big white dog. Throwing her arms around the dog, she began sobbing again, burying her face into the fur of its neck. The dog almost shrank back, but held itself still, as if it would allow this one time a mere human to cling to it.

After a bit the woman settled down once more, and the dog placed something in her hand. The object was a little bit wet, since he had been carrying it in his mouth. It seemed like paper, so she unrolled it. Reading the writing, her eyes grew wide.

Good Fortune Construction Company is pleased to announce it is now hiring workers for its new project. A wide range of positions is available. Interested persons are encouraged to apply.

Wasn't that the company that was planning to drain the river and build low-cost housing? She would have to write this down on the list. Her husband had for a long time wanted to work in construction. Maybe this was his opportunity.

* * *

Mahou - sorcery

Tsuni - composite name constructed for the story. Tsu meaning steal, ni meaning cargo.


	8. A Daitoku's Secrets and a Kami's Backup

Underwater Savior

Chapter 8: A Daitoku's Secrets and a Kami's Backup

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Koji brought the distraught Akio over to the table and served him some of the tea. It took a while, but finally he was calmed down enough to talk. In his earlier distress, although perfectly able to convey what was the problem, he had not been able to think of a solution. Now, he was discussing with his father what known jobs were open. He still had not seen the other male in the room, eyes occupied with staring into his tea.

His dark eyes were unfocused, empty as a hole. Earthy hair lay short and close to the skull, a common hairstyle these days. Akio was beginning to become plump, a product of his wife's cooking. Once her sister had disappeared, she had eschewed anything traditional, taking up instead whatever she could grab from American culture.

The door opened to Chihiro's room and a slightly yawning child padded out, unnoticed by the adults until she plunked herself in Kohakunushi's lap and looked up at him.

"Kohaku, why did I hear daddy crying? Was someone mean to him at work?"

"You should still be napping Chihiro, we had a long walk here."

She gave him an intense look. Those big eyes of hers bored into his, seemingly to the very core of his being as she searched for the answer.

"Why was daddy crying?"

"If I answer you, will you go back to sleep?"

A solemn nod was his answer.

"Your daddy is very frustrated, and is relieving some stress."

"Oh."

With that, her head flopped forward onto his chest, and she fell back into the realm of sleep. Shaking his head at the antics of children, Kohakunushi rose carefully and carried her back to her futon. After pulling her blanket back over her and tucking it securely around her, he returned to finish the cup of tea that he had been working on before. Everything had been done in a very matter-of-fact and precise manner, the kami not expecting to be seen by the son of his priest.

Akio had watched the whole thing, stunned. He had thought that Chihiro was with her mother. Yuukio didn't generally approve of Chihiro spending long periods of time with his father. Her complaint had always been that he taught her silly superstitions and rubbish stories. What also confused him was the fact that his only child was talking to his childhood imaginary friend.

"Father, why am I seeing the River-man again? Am I having a mental breakdown?"

Koji was surprised. It had been many, many years since his son had actually seen Kohakunushi. There had been many a time that Akio had been here when Kohakunushi had been here and he had not been seen. There had even been a few times where his boy had done something very stupid, earning a cuff in the head, but Akio had merely thought it a draft from an open window.

He could vividly remember the day that Akio had come home from school announcing that the spirit he had played with was a figment of his imagination. Sure, enough, by announcing that he had rejected his own gift of innocence Akio could no longer see the spirit. Something big must be happening here to enable him to see the kami again.

"You grew up and rejected him. Now, he has taken a special interest in your daughter. Maybe your distress has cleared your eyes again. Or, maybe you need to be aware that he does indeed exist and there is more to this world than what can be easily seen. I feel that this is not some chance thing, and that there is some reason for all of what is now happening in your life."

"And that would be?"

"I have no idea son."

"Why isn't Chihiro with my wife? I thought that she would be today."

Kohakunushi looked upon Akio with eyes filled with obviously conflicting feelings.

"Chihiro has been sneaking out while your wife is working. Lately she has been spending just about every day with me."

"I am sorry."

"For what?"

"For rejecting you and all you did for me when I was but a child."

Kohakunushi sighed. It had hurt when Akio had denied him. The boy had been the tender age of seven, far younger than most who had turned their backs on him. In some ways he would never get over how the humans could so easily deny and forget spirits. It was only natural though, as humans had been given the gift of being able to tune out that which ultimately was to be taken on faith.

"You are forgiven Akio. You aren't the first, and certainly won't be the last. I should be going now, since there is someone here to take Chihiro home. I have urgent matters to attend to."

With that, he rose gracefully, and went over to where he had stored his sandals and walking stick. Pausing before the door, he could sense that his pursuer had left and that it would be safe to take down his extra barrier. After having done so, he opened the door and left.

* * *

Yuukio had gotten a hold of herself, and had not noticed the dog had slipped off again. Going back inside, she headed for the phone. She was not looking forward to what she was about to do, but it had to be done. Before she could call the police to look for her daughter, she would check the only other place she could be at this time.

She would bite the bullet and talk to her father-in-law.

Slowly, so as to hopefully formulate something intelligent to say, she approached the black and silver beast that hung upon the wall. Light from a nearby window highlighted the polished sheen of the plastic. Shakily, she extended her pale hand to pick up the receiver. The clicks as the numbers were dialed upon the rotary phone echoed about the room. After the series of numbers had been input, the phone connected. In a humble house by the river a fair distance away, a similar phone on a similar wall rang.

A click was heard as the other phone was picked up. After only half listening to the voice on the other end as it greeted her, she spoke.

"Hello, father-in-law. Did Chihiro come to visit you today by any chance?"

* * *

While Akio was staring at the door his one-time friend had exited through, Koji was now heading for the phone that hung on the wall in the kitchen. Surprisingly enough, it had begun ringing right after the door had closed. Extending a hand, he grabbed the headset and placed it by his ear.

"Moshi moshi, Ogino household. Ogino-daitoku speaking."

"Hello, father-in-law. Did Chihiro come to visit you today by any chance?"

"Why, yes dear. A friend of mine found her out wandering around and brought her here. It seems she was just trying to make sure that you had enough quiet to concentrate, so don't get mad at her. She's taking a nap right now."

"Thank the Kami. I was afraid she had been kidnapped. I'll be there to walk her home."

"Don't worry about it. Akio is here with me. He'll bring her home after she wakes up. Finish your work dear."

"Ok."

He hung up the phone and shook his head. Looking at his son's haggard appearance, it seemed that he also needed a nap.

"Best be off to take a nap yourself, you could use one. I'll wake you up when it's time."

After he was sure that his son had settled down next to Chihiro, Koji began to gather his things. It had been long since he had been called upon in the position of exorcist, and those had been very minor ill-health demons. He went to the small chest that was hidden below the altar.

This chest had been in the family for generations, and housed almost all the things that were from the original Shrine. In here was a sacred mirror, carefully wrapped in golden silks and held sacred to Amaterasu. Also wrapped in silks, this time of a pure white was a small pearl, representing the Celestial Pearl once possessed by their Kami that would one day be returned to him. The only items not in here from the original Shrine were their sacred sword, which Kohakunushi had hidden with his treasures and the dragon statue that once had dwelled in the shrine and served as a focus to address when the Kami himself had not been present.

There were other things in this chest as well though. Two bottles of sake, one light while the other was dark, were always kept ready in here for rituals or emergency exorcisms. Also here were the jars of sacred salt and sacred sand only used to ward bad luck or drive out demons. The other two elements used were easy to obtain. The river flowed nearby and a candle is a simple thing to light. Indeed, many candles were stored in here.

Closing the chest and hiding it once again, Koji moved to one of the walls, upon which hung, supposedly as decoration, an oaken bow and quiver of hamaya. Hanging with these, also posing as mere decoration, was a simple staff of wood, much like the one that Kohakunushi was rarely seen without. As a boy, Koji had been trained in archery and the use of the staff by his father, who had always stressed being ready for every eventuality. Momentarily caressing the weapons, he sent up a prayer of thanks to his father, for insisting that he be trained in the aggressive defenses as well as the more passive defenses.

"I only hope that it doesn't come to using you."

Still feeling restless, he sat down in front of the altar in order to meditate. Perhaps if he consulted with his ancestors, more answers could be obtained.

* * *

Kohakunushi was tense. Things were really seeming to fall apart in his eyes. Akio had been a valuable employee to the agency he had worked in for years. There should be no way that he would be arbitrarily released from his employment. On the other hand, the economy was taking a downturn, and many people were losing their jobs. However, that didn't mean he really needed this to happen right now. It always seemed that whenever he got up the nerve to even begin to associate with the humans, something happened.

He couldn't sense the strange dog around. That made him feel much better. While it was gone, he intended to scope out the architectural and medical facilities. With any luck, maybe he could find out why it was haunting those locations so much. The so called 'secret' facility, which everybody in the area actually knew about thanks to a little thing called gossip, was closest to him. That is what he would check out first.

After a goodly deal of walking through the woods along his river, it rose before him. Or, at least, the two aboveground stories rose above him. He remembered well the fuss his 'sister' had put up when they broke ground for that project. Nobody had done the proper offerings before hand to appease her, and he got to listen to the woods spirit moan and complain the whole two years construction had been underway, quite literally.

It had given all the kami of the area something to do though. He had forgotten how many tools they had collectively stolen or hidden, and how many workers they had scared. Most of the other kami were so aggravated they would have happily carried everyone off, except there was that pesky rule that they weren't allowed to do that until it was safe for the spirits to be believed in again. The rules were there for good reason, but it sure did make some tasks hard to do.

A rustling in the trees was heard above him.

"Brother, is it gone? Can I come out of this tree now?"

"It's gone for now."

A green snake dropped out of the tree and landed just to the right of Kohakunushi. Coiling about itself, it raised it's head to look at him.

"I've been up that tree for three days now. Every time I think it's safe to get down, that dog spirit shows up. I really don't want to be it's supper."

Kneeling down, the kami came face to face with the little serpent.

"What can you tell me?"

"It's a big dog, but it can shape shift too. Its other form is a tall man with long white hair. He's been hanging out here, and seems to be after something in the building. The projects in there lately have all been viral. For some reason, they are trying to make a 'better' flu virus, carried by mosquitoes. I don't know why. If he manages to get his hands on even just one sample, terrible things could happen to the whole area."

"Do you have any idea why he would want one of the viruses?"

"Not really. Sometimes though, I can hear him laugh about getting revenge for a betrayal of some kind."

"Keep an eye on him for me when he is here. If you find anything else out, tell me."

"I will."

The serpent bowed, then slithered under a rock, back into her home. After making sure his 'sister' was well hidden inside her home, Kohakunushi set off for his next objective. As he walked though, he noticed something that troubled him greatly.

"I never noticed exactly how close they had built to the river. If any problems arise with the human's experiments, this could be big trouble."

* * *

Golden eyes watched from across the clearing within the camouflage of a bush.

"Well, it seems as if my diversion may work after all. If I play things correctly, I can even make sure that all trace of my 'loving family' is wiped out."

* * *

Before anybody asks it . . .

Q: "If the Shrine hasn't been rebuilt yet in this story, why is Ogino-san still a daitoku?"

A: Just because the Shrine has been gone for a few generations doesn't make the traditions go bye-bye. In here, the traditions have been passed down through the family and members of the family still become priests/priestesses if they wish. So we have Shrine Shinto that went back to Family/Folk Shinto which will become Shrine Shinto again in 'Rivers Never Die.' The more traditionally minded still pray to Kohakunushi and those that care basically consider Koji's house as Shrine Grounds for all intents and purposes. How much would ya wanna bet he's used to lots of house crashers about his age and older? ;)

Daitoku - Priest / exorcist

Hamaya - evil destroying arrows


	9. Dead Ends

Underwater Savior  
Chapter 9: Dead Ends  
By LadyRainStarDragon  
Rating: PG-13 / T for violence, occasional coarse language, and dangerous situations. 

I do not own Spirited Away, which is property of Hayao Miyazaki. Not mine. I can only wish, it is just a fan fiction.

* * *

Kohakunushi stood before the building company's complex. It wasn't very impressive he thought. It was just another one of those ugly city buildings encroaching upon him more every day. At least this building had been erected taking into account the land's natural flow, and had even been painted in natural colors. What was odd was the little mini-shrine to Oinari at the main entrance and the plentiful rice guarded by foxes in the company logo.

While paying his respects to the guardian kami of the location, he noticed movement in one of the windows. A flash of reddish-brown as curtains were drawn hastily shut, and a flicker of chi raised his suspicions even more.

As he prowled about the property, he noticed that there were no kami coming out to greet him. He found this very strange, as usually everywhere in the area, the kami interacted with each other often, even if at times it was only exchanges of pranks or territory disputes. Even though he saw no one, he could still feel eyes following him.

He found nothing of interest. Kohakunushi would have liked to explored in the building itself, but he could feel the presence of a spirit that would not let him. It didn't feel like it was malevolent at least. Sighing, the confused kami turned towards his river and melded with the waters once again.

* * *

Her slender hand snapped shut the reddish-brown curtain at the window. She had seen the young dragon acknowledging Oinari at the main entrance. Being perfectly aware of how keen a dragons eyes were, she felt the risk of movement sufficient. She would rather him see a flash than levitate to the window to read their lips.

"Father, is there no other way?"

"You consider him a friend don't you?"

"Yes, but I don't think that a friend would willingly see another friend's home destroyed. What if he doesn't escape in time? What if he doesn't make it to the Spirit World, or even worse, caught between? Is this risk worth possibly getting him killed?"

"You know as well as I do that a dragon without a mate for too long can and will go feral. Look at what happened to the Western Dragons. Most of them did not take mates of either dragon, human, or other spirit. However, they also could not control their urges without their balance. So, they stole and hoarded treasures and gobbled innocent maidens in not-so-pleasuring ways."

"And do you really think that someone as self-repressing and shy as Nigihayami Kohakunushi is all of a sudden going to snap and start pillaging and all that goes along with it? Exactly how many Eastern Dragons have you heard of doing that?"

"At least one."

She looked at her father. Her father looked at her. She raised her eyebrow. His eyebrow lowered. Her fingers drummed her opposing arms. His drummed his desk.

"I still think he is the most unlikely dragon to do that. Ten the Spring Spirit maybe, but not Nigihayami Kohakunushi. If you want to see a dragon move faster than light, just send a pretty girl to be his bride."

"And that is just exactly what even our fellow kitsune said about me before I took your mother, my daughter."

"You? Mr. Way Too Fertile himself? Dad, you being shy is as hard to believe as Kohakunushi eating a 'fair young maiden' and enjoying it."

"If he wasnt feeling the stirring of a desire to breed and be a father, then why do you think he used to play with the children so much and retreated so far into himself when he could do so with only a carefully chosen few? A repressed desire to be a pony perhaps?"

"As I remember it, he just likes to see kids be happy. So once again, what happens if he doesn't make it out in time?"

"Let's not think about it right now."

"I hate avoidance. Fine, if you need me, I'll be in my office 'Father.' Good day."

He watched his daughter exit his office, her scarlet suit blazing beneath the florescent lighting. Bowing his head, he thought to himself.

"I don't want to see another dragon perish like that ever again. He's too nice a lad for that fate."

* * *

Chihiro stretched as she woke from her nap. She felt so much better than before. Noticing that one side was warmer than the other, she turned her head to see her father's sleeping face.

'Huh, guess kids aren't the only ones who need naps sometimes.'

Carefully getting up, so she wouldn't wake him, she then tiptoed to the door. It took her forever to open it, since she was trying to be quiet. It took just as long to close the darn thing too, but at least it was worth it. She found her grandfather sitting before the little kamidana, but wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not. She had never seen someone sleep sitting up before. Getting ready to ask Kohaku about it, she looked around and noticed that he wasn't there anymore.

'Phoo! He's gone again.'

Chihiro settled for sitting facing her grandfather to stare in comfort. If she looked hard enough, she could sort of see the hairs of his chin grow.

'Wonder what he's dreaming?'

Koji could feel little eyes boring into his body. He tried to ignore it, but it had been a while. The little eyes kept boring into him, focusing now on his chin. It was almost like a child's stare, but Akio had long since grown and Chihiro was asleep. He opened one eye to check his surroundings.

'Correction. Chihiro was asleep. Past tense Koji.'

The boring sensation intensified, distracting him completely from what he was trying to do. Koji briefly wondered if his son regularly engaged her in staring matches or something.

"Grandfather, what are you doing if you're not asleep?"

"Meditating."

"What's that?"

"Calming your mind so you can hear the spirits and ancestors."

"Why?"

"I have some questions for them."

"Oh."

Silence filled the small house, and Koji returned to his meditation.

"Can I learn? I'd like to talk to Grandmother someday."

"You might as well start practicing now. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing until I tell you to stop."

Chihiro closed her eyes. As she began to pay attention to her breathing, she began to notice where the air was going and the stir of feeling with each breath.

"Well, this is weird. Kinda fun though."

She was really getting into it, and beginning to notice that she could hear a high pitched buzzing in her ears and the blood flowing through her body when she heard a gentle voice call her name from across the room.

Opening her eyes and looking up, she saw her father with his keys in hand. Her grandfather was handing him a small paper bag, probably filled with the rice balls that he knew she liked. Really, who would turn down sweet rice balls?

"Are you ready to go Chihiro?"

"Ok."

She gave her grandfather a hug, then took her father's hand as he lead her to the car. It was time to go home.

* * *

Tsukaimono stalked the hall towards her office. Office workers dashed out of her way when they saw the green eyes flickering with anger and frustration. A few of the workers later swore that they could see the fiery hair that was usually upswept faintly stirring with a life of its own. These were the same workers who also thought they could see a lush fox tail thrashing from side to side at her backside. They received counseling and a two week vacation to combat workplace stress as the upper management termed it.

She threw her door open, allowing it to bounce off the wall with a bang. It had been specially padded years ago for just this reason. For such a delicate looking flower, she was rather strong-armed. It wasn't really surprising though if you looked at her heritage.

No comfort was derived today from the tastefully decorated office. The green of the carpet to simulate grass and the woodland murals on the wall did nothing to calm her wild emotions. The small porcelain fox statues flanking a mini-shrine to Oinari watched her with emerald eyes as she paced to her pine desk. The accounting paperwork stared up at her, but she could not focus on it. Instead, she slumped forward, forhead perched heavily upon her hands.

"Oinari, what am I supposed to do? The plans are too far forward to put a stop to Dad's stupid plan."

A voice floated to her ear from the mini-shrine. The Tsuni's no longer took care of rice fields, but as they viewed the people of Nippon as rice, Oinari the Rice Kami still oversaw their work. In a sense, the kitsune family had moved on to taking care of a much larger and much more difficult rice field than that which they had guarded so long ago.

"You could try to warn him."

"How am I supposed to do that? He runs from almost every female who isn't his family now."

"You're mated now though. Why would he run from a happily married woman?"

"How about because he's starting to get paranoid of almost every female who comes in grabbing distance of him? The only females I've seen or heard of him with lately are his adopted sister and the little girl from his old Shrine's family."

"How do you know if you don't try?"

Tsukaimono sighed. The Rice Kami was right. Taking a rice cake out of her lunch, she placed it at the mini-shrine. She took another look at her desk, the account books open and staring at her. They could wait. The River Kami had helped her so long ago, it was now time to pay him back.

Opening her door thoughtfully, she glided out and back into the hall. The haze of anger had lifted from her eyes, and she could see the green carpet and light blue walls, a potted plant here or there. Turning to her right, she went to the stair, seeming to float down them, and then on the bottom floor, stopping at the front desk.

"I'm going for a walk. If anyone needs me, have them leave a memo."

The young receptionist nodded her head, deep brown eyes twinkling behind her thick glasses. She too understood the need to go take a walk on a particularly stressful day.

"Yes ma'am, Ms. Tsuni."

As she passed through the glass doors, Tsukaimono briefly wondered if the ningen would still be as respectful if it was known that she was a kitsune. She missed the days that it was safe to just be herself instead of using illusions to hide her more distinctive traits. Bringing herself back to the present she looked around. Kohakunushi was no where to be seen.

"Dragon just can't seem to stay put."

Walking over to the river, she looked down into the waters. They seemed empty to her, but then again, she didn't understand the element of water, as she was earth.

"Nigihayami Kohakunushi? Are you here? I need to speak with you."

Silence greeted her call and the river continued on its merry way. Either she was being ignored, or he had already moved on. He seemed to be searching for something earlier. Perhaps he had continued his search then.

"Fine, be that way you skittish dragon. I'll just go bother your daitoku then. So there!" She stuck her tongue out at the water in a childish manner. Still she received no answer as the water flowed by.

Stepping into a bush, she looked carefully around her. No one was looking, so she took back her natural form. From the bushes came a large fiery red fox, with a white star on the chest and a little black fur on the eyelids. After looking around once again, the fox put on a grin and began her trot towards where everyone knew the old priest lived.

Half-way there, she smelt dog. Looking around, she saw a pair of golden eyes.

'Crap! Please don't let that be who I think it is.'


	10. Know Your Enemy

Underwater Savior

Chapter 10: Know Your Enemy

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Inu and kitsune were natural enemies. Greed was out on another mission for his 'master' Chisen. So, of course when he smelt fox, Greed abandoned what he was currently digging up. Tracking the smell carefully, he smiled maliciously to himself at the sight. A she-fox was rushing through the forest. He had seen her before, and knew her as an enemy of his dysfunctional 'family'.

As he stepped out of his shelter, he spoke.

"So little Tsuni-sama, I see you are out of your fox-hole. Where are you running to this fine day, little one?"

'Kuso! I thought he had been exorcized ages ago. Why is that dog spirit still existent? Why?'

Tsukaimono put on a burst of speed, trying to get away from the demon. Darting through the underbrush and weaving a trail that only a fox could, she was dismayed when her tricks of evasion did not work. Finally, the dog spirit had her pinned on her back, though how she got like that she would never know. He lowered his muzzle to her ear.

"You were the only one of that family to hold my respect, giving my body a proper burial when you came upon it. It's too bad that you are mated now. The smell is human though, and very old. He is an old man now isn't he, and will be leaving you soon. Help me, and I will see to it that you remain well taken care of even after he is gone."

The golden eyes stared into her green ones, and she could see the lust that filled them. It seemed that Greed was not the only thing that had taken over the dog after his gruesome murder at the hand of his master. She could remember him as a puppy, filled with warmth, love, and devotion toward the family that he served. She never did understand why the Mahou coveted their responsibilities so badly. That covetousness had resulted in this monster now on top of her, suggesting horrendous things.

Greed saw the emotions in her eyes. Even she was going to spurn him, the one thing that had given him hope in other creatures at all. All he wanted was life, to no longer be caught between as a servant of an unskilled sorcerer. Her kindness by taking care of his body had led to his desire of her. It was the only unmalicious feeling in his body.

"I will remain faithful!"

The salt she threw from somewhere burned him, causing him to rear upward. The fox took advantage of this, and escaped. She would have to get another packet of sacred salt when she got to the Ogino Shrine. Oinari would understand why she would be carrying something from another Shrine.

As the dog howled in pain behind her, she raced for the daitoku's home. Relief filled her when she finally made it. Her hand burnt as she began rapping on the door, but she paid it no heed.

"Koji! Let me in! It's Tsukaimono! Please! I'm pursued!"

The priest heard the commotion made by the only youkai he would let into his home. 'Something must have really happened to cause her to come all the way here on a work day.' He opened the door, allowing his friend to barrel in.

"Tell me about it."

"It's an action and a he."

"Let me get some tea for us."

* * *

Akio and Chihiro were met at the car by Yuukio. Before the poor kid could escape, she was swept up in the tightest embrace she had ever imagined possible. It was almost as bad as having some distant relative pinch your cheek, but squeezing the very life from her bones. Or at least this was so in the child's active imagination.

The family went inside, Chihiro trudging in. The car ride had made her sleepy again. As growing girls need their rest, she was allowed to go back to sleep. She would no doubt wear herself out in time for bed time once she woke back up. She went up the stairs to tuck herself in.

Akio and Yuukio sat down at the table to discuss their day. Yuukio slid a piece of paper towards Akio.

"I found two job opportunities for you in the area."

Akio looked at the two possibilities with contact information written down, nodding. Standing and leaning forward, he hugged his wife.

"Good job. I'll call right away."

He went over to the phone as Yuukio decided to get an early start on making dinner. Akio had always wanted to work in construction, he loved being outdoors. He was getting rather soggy around the middle anyway, and if he could get a physical job, that would clear his problem up nicely. The pay at the medical facility was tempting, but really, he didn't want to be associated with that. The rumors were all bad. So instead, he dialed up Good Fortune Construction.

"Good Fortune Construction Company. This is Cheryl. How may I direct your call?"

"Arigato Cheryl-san. I was notified of possible job positions with your company, and I was calling for more information and an application."

"Hai, hai! I'll direct you to the company head, he will be most happy to talk with you! One moment please!"

Akio looked at the receiver in his hand in shock after some canned elevator music began playing while he was on hold. He hadn't expected such a fast and enthusiastic response.

"Hello, Ni speaking!"

Akio nearly choked on his tongue. He was expecting a big speech-type greeting like he always got from the company president in his old job.

"Hello. I was directed here to speak of job openings and the possibility of filing an application."

"Yes. That's me you want to talk to. Call me Tsuni-san please. Can you come to the office today and we can discuss in person your strengths and which department you would like to work in?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent, I will see you today then."

The phone was hung up with a click, leaving Akio to stand stunned.

"Well?"

"I'll be back dear. I have a job interview to get to."

With that, Akio got his things together and went out the door. Chihiro came back down the stairs as he left.

"Where's daddy going?"

"To a meeting."

* * *

Far below the river in an ancient cave system, a large white dragon was stretched out on a flat rock. Phosphorescent algae lighted the cave dimly, winking off of various crystal and mineral deposits. Here is where he hid his treasures, and this water guarded his secrets. Gazing morosely in the waters below, he let forth a sigh.

'What could be his game? For that matter, where did he come from?'

A sightless white fish rose to the surface as an equally sightless lizard came up to their master's side?

"What is the matter master? Is there something that we can do?"

The dragon regarded the other denizens of the grotto gravely. These two were the boldest of the others, and often would talk with him. They ran his household for him, as there were often times that he was too busy with what went on in the aboveground part of his river. Over the years, new treaties had to be worked out between the different kami above, as the uses of the waters in the area changed. He was lucky to have such trustworthy spirits to delegate the daily matters of his secret to.

"Above ground is a strange spirit with an even stranger agenda. This is what is worrying me at this time. There is a child in our family that requires more protection that usual as she likes to wander about without adults to protect her. I worry what this spirit may do to the child and all the other humans above."

"Abnormally malicious spirits don't usually cause you so much concern master. Usually you just crush them and have done with it. What is so special about this case?"

Kohakunushi shook his great head, stirring his mane back into life.

"I wish it were still that easy. Things have changed greatly above ground in the past several hundred years. A dragon can't just walk around up there and chew on some random menacing demon and expect everyone to cheer. No, they either think they've had too much sake, try to shoot you, or try to haul you off to be 'studied'."

"So how does this spirit get away with his real form up there?"

"He's a dog."

"Oh."

Silence filled the cave for a time as the three contemplated the problem. However the problem was solved, it would required stealth. That wasn't a problem for the river guardian, it was something he was really good at. The problem was trying to figure out what the dog was up to, and how to thwart it. The lizard cleared his throat.

"Master, perhaps some of the scrolls in your library could help. I remember dusting some lately that pertained to this sort of thing."

Kohakunushi nodded his head in acknowledgment. He watched as his two servants went back to their duties. Rising from his spot, he carefully made his way towards the grotto that held all of the scrolls that had been collected by himself and his ancestors. His line had always been preoccupied by the humans, and so had made a point to collect wisdom and resources for the rare human who was brave enough to ask for help. They were also just naturally curious. It often got them into trouble.

He stood before the great doors that closed off the library from the rest of his domain. Leaning his head against it, he pushed gently, and they swung open. As they did so, he resumed a human form, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lights used in the room.

"I keep forgetting just how many scrolls are stored in here." A groan soon followed this statement as he realized he was going to have to use the indexing system.

"I really need to get this organized."

* * *

Tsukaimono knelt by the low table, sipping her tea. Her hysteria had calmed down by now. And she had successfully related to the priest what was going on. Including her brush with the Greed Spirit. She shuddered as she remembered his hot breath on her face.

"So you think that the buried and starved dog that you found that day is the one that is running around now."

"No, I know so. He told me as much."

"And your father has this crazy idea to 'temporarily' get rid of Kohakunushi's river in order to force him into the Spirit World long enough to get a mate."

"In a nutshell."

"For such a wise kitsune, I'm surprised he hasn't seen the two flaws in his plan."

"I pointed them out many times, but he just keeps going on. It's creepy."

"So, how much time do we have left now?"

"Not much. It's slated to begin within the next month since it's such a long process."

"And so we get to deal with a crazed greed spirit and fend off river destruction at the same time."

"Looks like somebody wished that we live in interesting times once to often."

"Well, I'll pass the information along. Who knows when he'll be up here again, probably only if my granddaughter puts herself in a bad spot again knowing him. He's probably busy trying to figure out a way of getting rid of the dog without breaking any rules. It chased them you know."

"Great. Now if we can only figure out how Chisen could stand to gain from whatever Greed is up to."

Koji's eyes narrowed.

"Chisen Mahou?"

The fox youkai looked at the human in surprise. Did he know whom she was talking about somehow?"

"Yes."

"I suggest that you step up your security. Chisen has always envied anyone wealthier than himself. I wouldn't put it past him to try to mess your father's 'project' up, he'll find some way to gain something that he wants here."

"It could be the deeds to the apartments then. With something like that, he could stand to make quite a bit of money."

Tsukaimono quickly drained the rest of her tea. She needed to warn her father. After thanking Koji for his hospitality, she was on her way.

A fox was seen running away from the home.

'I hope that I don't run into that THING again.'

* * *

hai - yes

arigato - thank you

kuso - hit, etc.


	11. Preparation

Underwater Savior

Chapter 11: Preparation

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Two weeks elapsed, and Kohakunushi was still researching in the library. That didn't mean that he had abandoned the surface of course. He was cheating. His friend Ten had once given him as a gift a magic mirror that would allow him to survey his protectorate from wherever he was. He didn't use it much, since he preferred to see things first hand. In this case though, since he needed to do two things at once, he made an allowance this time. 

He had seen Chihiro go near the water a few times. She was careful not to fall in, and usually put some mochi on a rock just within the reach of his river. She would giggle every time a passing surge would sweep the treat away, watching it wink out of her world and into his. Come to think of it, the few treats she had put out as offerings for him had been the only thing he'd eaten the whole time he had been looking for the information he needed. She was going to make a very good priestess when she was grown.

Koji had been pulling at his thoughts lately too. All that he could really hear in the prayers was that a kitsune had been attacked by the dog spirit. The rest, was a confusing, muttered, hurried mess. Kohakunushi guessed that he had been interrupted each time he tried to say something. However, this was enough to make him look with even greater fervor. Finally, up in the furthest corner, in the bottom of the shelf, he found a scroll that seemed could hold the information he sought. He wiped off a cobweb.

"Dusted recently my scales. He must have meant sometime within the past five years."

He climbed down the ladder back to the stability of the ground. Shaking himself free of the dust of the centuries, he made his way to his large desk. He sank onto the simple wooden chair, secretly glad that at least this area was not covered in dust. His cleaning staff was rather short handed, as he did not like to have servants. It seemed to be time to hire a few more good ones though. Looking back up, he realized that he had been a good 20 feet in the air.

"Definitely have to take the time to reorganize this, and figure out a better retrieval system. I'm lucky the ladder didn't decide it was time to pass on to another life."

Unrolling the scroll, his eyes were met with a grisly sight. The picture of how to make a dog servant, in all its gory details made him want to regurgitate, as if he had taken a strong purging medicine. He couldn't understand why anybody would be so cruel as to subject something to a death of starvation, being held so tightly in the screaming earth's grip as to not even reach a single morsel of food or drink of water so close to the sniffing snout. It was a wonder that such beings subjected to the will of a human master at all. If it had been him, he probably would have killed the maker as soon as he was free of earthly bonds.

Looking further through the scroll, he was relieved when there were no more paintings waiting to threaten the hold on his self-control. One of the few things that truly made him lose his grip was the needless and intentional suffering of another being. It was tripled when the being had been faithful to the tormentor for years before the betrayal. Focusing on the writing, he paid close attention to what the scribe sought to convey.

_There are those whose envy and greed are so great, that they will seek to harm those who have what they want in order to get it. The weapon of choice is an enslaved dog spirit. As those that are naturally occurrent are too powerful and too dangerous to handle with any hope of control, a sorcerer will employ one of his own design. A pet loyal to the sorcerer is chosen, and then the steps are taken to ensure he knows the pains of extreme hunger in order to know the pains that the sorcerer feels. Since the dog was a loyal pet, he will serve the master in his afterlife, bringing treasures and wreaking the master's vengeance._

'That didn't really make me feel any better.'

_Over time however, certain dog spirits will gain in power. The more intelligent ones are to be avoided if possible, for they are the ones with the most chance of growing and surpassing the master. In time, they may turn against their masters in vengeance of their own death in order to move on. This vendetta will be carried on to all members of the sorcerer's family and all descendants. If such were to pass, and the family eliminated, then the mononoke would be free to pass into the next life or to linger as it wished. Woe to those who would encounter such a one who has not only surpassed it's master but also acquired human form._

_Such a vengeful spirit must be exterminated, not merely exorcized. A trained taijya will be able to employ the weapons made from the bones of the youkai, beings strong enough to bring down this threat. The only other recourse is the interference of one of the gods, and they usually will not partake in such a battle until the lesson not to release such dark magics has been learned by the populace. After the extermination of the beast, a daitoku must exorcize both the site of the slaying and the monster's power spot._

_Such is the only way to free the world of such a threat, unless a pure soul can release the beast from it bonds of slavery into peace. Souls pure enough for such tasks are rare, as they are called the Pearl Souls, in honor of the rare Celestial Pearls. Such Pearls and such Souls are known as the Moon's Tears and are pathways to the realms of the afterlife and the Heavens._

'A taijya? Where am I supposed to find a taijya? They hide themselves from the gods, demons, and human world alike. The only time they are seen anymore is when they feel that they are needed.'

Needless to say, Kohakunushi didn't count too heavily on getting aid from that sector. He only knew of one Pearl Soul, and there was no way that he was letting that monster get anywhere near her again. He was going to protect his little Chihiro. That left him only one option.

'Guess I get to fight him, since this is my area.'

Kohakunushi took one glance at the staff that was currently leaning against the wall, and sighed. It was a sturdy staff, and had served well. There had been many a threat to the well being of his river and protectorate that had been brought low by it. Usually not killed of course, since he felt it should only been done when needed, and it left the defeated to live with their dishonor anyway. However, he was going to need a little something extra for this task.

He carefully rolled the scroll back up, and levitated it back into its proper place, since there was no way he wanted to climb the ladder again. He would heal very quickly if he managed to get himself hurt, but that didn't mean that he actually enjoyed hurting himself. Leaving his staff in its usual resting place against the wall, he passed back through the halls and grottos until he was at his river once more. Diving off of a particularly large rock, he slipped under the water with nary a ripple.

Having assumed his dragon form once more sometime during the dive, he undulated through the waters until he reached the very bottom of the underground part of his river. Here, dug into the very base rock of his domain, lay the secret vault where he hid most of his treasures. He had an even more secret vault, where he would put them from time to time, usually only when his home was in danger of being invaded. He was a dragon after all, and he was as guilty of hoarding his treasure as any other. The stone doors slowly opened into the vault, recognizing their master's living energy, allowing him entrance while his waters remained on guard outside.

Gold, silver, obsidian, jade, pearls, and many other jewels lay in heaps or sleeping in chests. Bags of coins were off to one side, for the times that he would take a holiday, or need to support his human dependents above. Fine goblets, silks, armor and sundry weapons all found places on shelves. Much more was stored here as well, but his eyes were drawn to one thing. In a far corner, a plain pine chest that had been stained black, lurked, keeping its secret.

Tromping his way across the treasure laden floors, he suppressed an urge to roll around in it. Truthfully, all of these baubles made an excellent backscratcher. He still couldn't see how others could sleep on it though, it was a rather lumpy mattress. Approaching the box slowly and respectfully, he waited for the secret possession to awaken, to acknowledge his presence.

As he reached the chest, he could hear the hum and thrill as what it contained called to him, longing to be in the air once more. A rattling was heard as the lock began to turn itself, the lid springing open before his slitted emeralds.

There, within, lay a beam of moonlight silver. So deceptively still, it lay waiting for a moment to spring to life and cut down any enemy. The teal silk beneath it cradled and calmed the fey blade, an extension of himself the Sea King had granted that he have the day he came of age and was appointed to this river. Now would be the time to call upon the blade and to call upon the training that he had gone through as a child.

Carefully, with claws unused to manipulating such items, he nested the sword within the silver scabbard, being sure that the safety latch was engaged. Grasping it securely in one claw, he carefully place a spell upon the set to protect it from the water. As the doors opened for him once again, cold gripped his insides. Praying to the higher gods, he hoped that it wasn't an omen. He leapt upward, back into his waters, and undulated for the surface as the doors below him closed and locked.

* * *

Ni sat at his desk, now looking over proposals for other housing projects in japan. That didn't mean that he was succeeding in paying attention to them though. For the past two weeks, his mind had been on other matters. 

He could remember how horrified he was when his daughter came back to the company building and rushed to his office. She had let her glamour fall just as the door closed, and he could see the twigs in her hair, cuts from branches, and bruises from rough handling. He had thought his gut couldn't get any lower until she let her bombshell drop.

Chisen had let loose his dog-servant.

Ni was well acquainted with the dog-spirit, as it had gone after him and his things many times since it's creation. Ni had played many people, keeping his identity a secret, yet it always seemed to know exactly who he was, and what to do. He suspected what the spirit would go after this time.

After all, Chisen had squandered all his money, and the rent from the apartments would be a nice income for him. The only thing of greater value that he possessed was the dragon's Celestial Pearl, and only Ni and Kohakunushi knew how to obtain it.

What worried Ni the most though, was what could happen if the plans for the project were interfered with. Things had to be done carefully so as not to injure the river kami so badly as to kill him. He had to be sent to the Spirit World. It did no good to kill Nigihayami Kohakunushi. As spiteful as the dog-spirit was though, Ni could be sure that he would not only try to steal the deed, but pull a lot of problems for the workers.

"Never thought I'd be wishing for a demon-exterminator."

Ni took a long drink of the tea set to his side, and ate a bit of the mochi his current wife had packed for dessert in his lunch. Finally, having steeled himself enough, he pressed the button on the intercom.

"Cheryl-san, please send in Foreman Ogino-san."

The line buzzed, then replyed.

"Right away Tsuni-san!"

A few minutes later, his new foreman arrived, direct from the planning meeting he had been attending with the other shift foremen.

"What can I do for you sir?"

"We will need to step up the speed on the river project. Please inform everyone that since required materials have arrived, we will be starting tomorrow."

A look of shock and dismay crossed the human's face, and Ni briefly wondered what the unexpected start would be interrupting.

"Yes, sir. I will spread the word right away."

"Ogino-san, please only tell the other foremen and the teams that will be working on this project. I do not want anybody above you to know just yet."

"Yes, sir."

Akkio then turned around and went about his task, leaving Ni sitting at his desk.

* * *

Later that night, Akkio was laying down in bed, trying to sleep. Sleep however, wasn't coming. As he shifted around again, his wife woke up. It was some time though, before her sleepy voice could penetrate the thick cocoon of thoughts that he had enshrouded himself in. 

"What's wrong dear?"

"Boss stepped up the date of the project beginning to tomorrow. We'll be partially capping the spring that feeds the river, while the rest of the water will be pumped out of the river and stored for later."

"Partially capped?"

"The spring can't be fully capped, not only because it is a sacred site, but the hydrologists think that there might be an underground river that also feeds from the spring. They aren't sure though because of what they are calling the 'unique' geology of the area."

"So what's wrong then?"

"I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right. Also, I feel a bit guilty about being part of taking away the river. Chihiro just loves it so much."

"I don't see why she does. However, when she is older, I think that she will understand. For now, we just don't tell her what you are doing for work. Go to sleep hon, you have a big day tomorrow."

With that, Yuukio turned over and went back to sleep. Akkio turned the other way, but sleep refused to claim him.

'Why do I feel like I'm doing something wrong?'

He had already marked down seeing 'the River-man' to the stress of having lost his old job so suddenly. He had been over-tired, and his childhood friend was only imaginary, after all. Still, every time he thought of the river no longer flowing peacefully beneath the spring-time blossoms, his heart froze.

* * *

Koji was frantic. For two weeks he had been trying to attract the attention of his kami. Every time he prayed, he felt like he was only being half-listened to. Something was absorbing Kohakunushi's attention. Then when he could feel the full attention swing his way, invariably someone would either barge in or bang on the door, causing the rest of his message to rush. Somehow, he didn't think the kami had managed to decipher it. What, was his house suddenly crash central or something? 

Tonight, though, was going to be different. This time, he had put up a sign on the front door that he was not to be disturbed, for a religious observance. He also had gotten one of his friends to stand on guard outside the door so that he could have peace, at least until he had delivered his message. He was after all, a priest and not a midwife, school counselor, or babysitter.

Lighting the candles before his altar, he cleared his thoughts. Carefully, he picked up the rosewood joss sticks and lit them, placing them securely in a holder. Now he was assured of not only no interruptions on the physical plane, but there shouldn't be any on the spiritual plane either.

"Nigihayami Kohakunushi-sama, I, your Priest Ogino Koji wish to speak with you."

'Quit with the honorific please! I've heard that a kitsune had been attacked. What is the rest of your message?'

Koji was happy that he had finally gotten through, and surprised that Kohakunushi had heard anything with how hurried his prayers had been lately.

"In two weeks, the Sacred Spring will be stopped up in order to empty your river. There is a construction company that plans to fill it and place apartments where it is now, Lord."

'. . . .'

"The kitsune felt that the dog-spirit has been summoned to steal the deed from the owner of the company."

". . . Two weeks isn't enough time to divert the river. Thank you Koji. I must break this connection as I need to confer with the other kami in this area. It seems that we are all being pushed from our homes. Do what you can to help stop this. I need someone among you humans."

As the mental connection between kami and daitoku was released, Koji noticed that the candles had burnt out. Cleaning up the wax, he thought to himself. He himself had no power to stop this project from moving forward. Maybe one of his environmentalist friends would know what to do. Perhaps the project could be slowed enough to allow the kami the time that he would need. Kohakunushi had enough on his plate worrying about the dog spirit, and now his home was going to be destroyed.

He went to the door, and let his friend know that he was done, and that he could return home if he wished or to stay the night if it was more convenient. The man chose to go home, which was actually fine with Koji. He was feeling a little irate with the human race right now. That, he found very odd as he was a human himself.

Flinging himself upon his futon, and covering with his blankets, one thought drifted through his mind as sleep wrapped her tender arms around him.

'How was it that the project has progressed so far, surely there would have been protests or something?'

Snug in her bed, Chihiro sleepily gazed out her window at the night.

'I miss you.'

She rolled over and closed her eyes. Unknown to her, two golden eyes blazed in the garden below her window, and two ears perked to hear the breathing of the family as it fell asleep.

'There's something about that girl. I will have her. The way that the river god protected her, it's as if she possesses his heart."

* * *

Words 

Taijya - demon slayer

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. Sorry, no individual replies this time, Ijust got home a few hours ago.


	12. Attacked!

Underwater Savior

Chapter 12: Attacked!

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

"The humans are going to WHAT?"

"Oh, you can't be serious. How are they going to fill in a river?"

"Nice joke to break up the monotony of hiding from the dog demon."

Obviously, a cacophony had greeted the Lord of the Kohaku River upon his announcement to the gathered kami of the area.

"It's no joke. In two weeks my river will begin a battle with the humans who seek to fill it."

"Brother, where will you go if they succeed?"

Kohakunushi smiled at the little green snake that had claimed him as an elder brother. "Who knows? I'm sure not going to make it easy on them though. I will need everyone's help in my river's defense. The greatest threat is the dog demon that's on the loose."

The kami of a thorn patch near a waste treatment facility in the area spoke next.

"Lord Kohakunushi, how can you say that the dog demon is the greater threat when your very livelihood is being threatened by the humans? Let the demon eat them."

"He is the greater threat because if he escapes any control that is on him, then he could eat anyone, not just the humans. He has already chased the little one around, and all of you have been in hiding very often as of late."

The thorn dipped her head in shame as the little snake wound herself about the river lord's ankles trying to soothe him.

A little weasel hopped carefully onto Lady Thorn's shoulder.

"So, can I please steal the heavy machinery this time? I really think that it would have worked in saving Maiden Snake's clearing."

"Cause as much chaos as you want, just try not to hurt the humans. I don't think any of us want to stand before the Great Council for affecting the delicate balance between our worlds."

By this time Thorn had looked up again, and was eyeing the blade now tied at the kami's waist.

"Why caution us when it seems that you are resorting to weaponry against the filth?"

"This blade is not for the humans, Thorn. I will employ this against the demon."

The blade that rested at his hip pulsed as a chill swept over him. A scream was heard across the night, high and shrill that caused each member of the gathering to turn in horror towards the sound. It sounded like a child's scream and the direction it had came from caused the kami of one of the house gardens to drop onto the meadow's ground. It spurred another towards the scream.

"Chihiro!"

* * *

The house had been quiet, and she had been sleeping. What had awakened her was not a noise, or even a lack of noise. No, what had awakened the child was the hot, fetid breath of something looming over her. Doing what instinct dictated, she lashed out, her tiny hands having no result on the immovable head, the golden eyes she now stared into clearing showing annoyance.

In fear, she screamed. She wondered how this great beast had come into her room, and why her parents were not heard rushing to her to save her from this nightmare.

"You are mine now human. You will be excellent bait to lure your protector dragon to me."

Fear filled the child, and she looked at the door, wondering why the house was so silent. Where were her mom and dad?

"You parents won't be coming, trinket. Such an old dog as I has learned more than a little magic. Sleeping spells are very easy for one such as I. They will sleep through the night, only awakening when it is time for your father to go to work."

The old dog began muttering a chant in an ancient form of Japanese. The spell made her feel a little sick, but it did not seem to have the desired effect judging by the expression in his eyes. A familiar voice echoed in her head as she saw those haunting jade eyes in her mind.

"I will protect and provide for her to the best of my ability."

Chihiro did not know when he had said that, but the voice and eyes she knew belonged to Kohaku.

'Nigihayami Kohakunushi, please help me.'

* * *

Kohakunushi felt the pull of a believer uttering a prayer. What scared him the most was that the voice was that of his little human friend. The scream had indeed belonged to her. He flew towards her home, as a vision of the face he was coming to hate filled his inner eye. He noticed that it was tinted in the stark colors of fear.

'How did he manage to get inside? I made sure that a strong barrier was around her home. The only way he could get in would be if someone had brought something of his inside.'

A window burst open to him on the second story, and as he plunged through it, his heart would have frozen if it could grow any colder. There, looming over his innocent treasure's bed, was the evil demon. A demon who now eyed him with surprise and fear, as this house was considered part of the kami's territory while it housed any Ogino. Slowly, he moved closer.

"Get away from her."

Kohakunushi so wanted to run him through right now, and the blade at his side positively screamed it's bloodlust for all to hear. He couldn't risk the fight happening before the child's eyes though. Witnessing such a scene could possibly taint her young soul, making her perfect Pearl imperfect. His nature was to protect, and so protect her he would.

The dog spirit turned and ran, flinging itself through the window and running through the night. Sobbing attracted his attention to the form now quivering in the bed. Taking the remaining few steps towards the sobbing child, he wondered what could have happened if he had come in just a little bit later. He was being stretched too thin lately, and the slips in his guardianship showed it to him. He wrapped an arm about the little human, and pulled her to his chest, allowing her salty tears to soak his clothing.

"Sh. Everything is alright now Chihiro."

She only continued crying. He vaguely recalled his own mother having rocked him as a dragon pup, and had seen human mothers do the same with their young so long ago. Trying to soothe the human pup, he too began to rock. She slowly started to calm down, and soon the sniffling stopped as she lay limp against his chest.

As she rested, he allowed his presence to expand to fill the whole dwelling, searching for the object that had allowed his enemy clearance into this slightly detached part of his protectorate. In what appeared to be a study or office of some kind, he could now feel the enemy's power signature. Following it, he noticed a paper, which looked to be an advertisement for a job opening with Good Fortune Construction. Concentrating, the paper dissolved into a pocket of water that suddenly surrounded it, purified of the demonic essence that clung to it.

Looking down at the precious parcel nestled in his arms, he saw that he had achieved his task. Not only was she safe, but now resting peacefully as well. Kohakunushi carefully laid her back down on her bed, covering her with the soft blankets.

Once more, he flew through the window of her bedroom, carefully closing it behind him and placing a new barrier on the home. Up under one of the eves in a hard-to-find place, he sealed it. As long as the seal remained, no unapproved or uninvited spiritual entity would be able to enter. This completed, he set out on the hunt for the demon that had been so close to his possession.

* * *

Greed paused at his power point, resting and thinking. Somehow, the blasted river dragon had known of his attempted kidnaping before he could even finish it. His question was how. Something else was bothering him. No one had ever been able to throw off one of his sleeping spells, but she had done it twice. It was almost as if his magic had encountered a barrier around her rolled off. That was silly though, wasn't it? Such a young child couldn't manage a barrier.

He needed a new plan to get what he wanted.

* * *

Reviews

Little Witch: Thanks

Spirited Away Fangirl: Thanks for the info.

Shitza: Working on that next chapter for you.

NitenGale: It will be interesting if I can actually pull off the sad ending, ne?

KatsyKat: Well, not quite what you had suggested, hope you liked though.

Waves to Shutsumon, big book worm, Kyia Star, Ahara Musici,


	13. Despair of a Kami, Death of a Sorcerer

Underwater Savior

Chapter 13: Despair of a Kami, Death of a Sorcerer

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

Violent down near the end of the chapter, regarding a bit of vampirism and a brutal beating. The beating itself is more inferred, not exactly blow-by-blow.

Edited for spelling errors I missed. Bad Rain, bad!

* * *

Kohakunushi had been flying all night, searching for the dog demon. He was still extremely angry that his barrier had been breached. He was even more pissed that somehow he had tricked one of the adults to bring something of his inside the house. Didn't they realize not to trust a giant dog that they don't recognize? Especially if he gave you a piece of paper with writing on it.

He couldn't find a trace of the dog. He wasn't surprised, he had wasted time comforting the child, but he couldn't bring himself to just leave her there like that. He saw something slighlty suspicious in one of the yards, but there wasn't enough time left to investigate. He headed for a nearby meadow to land, and took back his human form there.

He collapsed on a rock to think, not noticing truly where he was. His hair flowed around his head in waves, the currents of wind, river, and sea still surrounding him in his pain and stress. He had no idea what was happening to him. Once, he would have placed the well-being of his river before the well-being of the humans who surrounded him. Lately though, it seemed that the humans were in more need of him than the river. The strange thing was, HE was the river. So did that mean that others needed him more than he needed himself? It was such a confusing thought, and it made his head hurt. Out of nowhere, he suddenly realized that although he had sealed Chihiro's house, he had forgotten to include the grounds.

A sleepy hiss brought him back to himself as something wound its way up his leg.

"Aniki? What's wrong? Is she ok?"

A little green jewel could be seen laying on his knee. The only thing that marred the illusion of a large emerald were the black eyes and darting lightning tongue. The winding sensation had been Maiden Snake checking on him. The kinship between the two halves of the serpentine family was such that any strong emotion could be sensed by a member of the other half if they were close enough. The rock which was serving as his seat must be the one she was now living under. Maybe she would eventually evolve into a dragon after all if she felt him from down there.

"Everything is wrong, but yes, she is ok."

"Is there anything I can do? I might still be young, and only know a little magic, but I want to help somehow."

The dragon-man and snake stared at each other for a time, the only sign of restlessness being the never ceasing movements of the imitation waves upon his head.

"Perhaps there is a way. How would you like to have a nice, new home in a little house garden, near a little girl who would probably leave you tasty tidbits if you asked?"

"You want someone that you can trust to keep an eye on her."

A dip of the head was her answer from him. Even in this form, she gained more from his body language than his words. 'Typical dragon who doesn't want to share his worries.'

"I'll be glad to go. He hasn't shown up here for a while."

"Try not to let her see you. She knows too much of our world already. Her life is before her, she deserves a chance to live it in her own world." 'She deserves a chance to live at all. What would he do to her?'

Green swam through green unseen and was gone. Maiden Snake left her home without a word, fully prepared to never to see it again. Kohakunushi slowly stood after he was gone. Setting one foot before the other, they beat out a sad song of a river flowing towards a sea it was not sure it would ever see. Even after he killed the demon, assuming that one as young as he was capable of doing so, he would lose a vast part of his river. If he didn't die of power depletion, then he would surely become one of the Unknowns and Unremembered. Who would be there for the others, especially Chihiro, then.

He knew that he would lose the battle for his river, but there may be something he could yet do to protect the family he had adopted as his own. Taking a break and waiting for the mononoke to come back out of hiding, he headed for his home to collect the supplies for the spell.

He was determined that even in death, he would remain somehow for his precious treasure.

* * *

Chihiro woke with the dawn, which was strange for her. Something had pulled at her dreams, tugging them away from her. She had seen a plug being lowered into a pool, from which a river flowed. The flow of the river slowed, and machinery was sucking up what was in the riverbed. Leading the men doing this was a large form that was so familiar to her, but she couldn't see his face. It was strange, and she didn't understand it. It scared her though, almost as much as the monster that was in her room last night.

She had always scoffed when other kids told her about monsters under their beds or in their closets. But now, she wasn't so sure that it couldn't happen. She had been the only child in the community to never have dreams about bedroom monsters. However, it wasn't a dream, as she could clearly remember Kohaku rocking her, and two onigiri sat on a plate by the bed waiting for her. She could even fuzzily remember what he had hovered above her window.

"Sleep, my precious pearl. Nothing will harm you now. I seal your home against the monsters. Hear the dragon lullaby with your mind. Feel the embrace of my waves."

Hearing the spell he had chanted while he sealed her home and ensured her rest had sent her deep into slumber. Indeed, the security of his river had even wrapped itself about her sleeping form and soul, energetically speaking.

Unable to reenter the realm of sleep, she ate the simple breakfast the spirit had left for her. Afterwards, she pulled on some warm clothing over her pajamas. She was going to go out in the garden for a while, having already figured out how to unlock the new locks on the doors. Perhaps the scent of the flowers would help her calm down. She had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Maybe later today she could talk Grandpa into taking her to see the Sacred Spring. She wanted to see where the waters emerged from the purifying mountain.

* * *

At the Mahou residence, Chisen was preparing himself for work, having already had his breakfast of rice. He stood in the bathroom, straightening his tie and slicking back his hair. Greasiness and griminess oozed out of each pore, although he was physically perfectly kept. Little did he know that he was perfecting his death suit instead of just his work persona.

The front door was knocked open, creating a loud bang that was unheard by Chisen. The wards around his home were little better than nothing, the seals having peeled away long ago. His father had mysteriously passed away before his training in the dark arts were complete, and so he had very few defenses. This was all to Greed's advantage.

Greed padded through the door, shedding as much as he could over everything. Before long, balls of the white substance stuck to everything. It was a low blow, but then again, his life had consisted of low blows for what seemed an eternity now. Patiently, he lay down on the couch and waited for his victim to emerge.

The human toddled out of the bathroom, humming a tune to himself that drove the dog crazy with irritation. Having his eyes closed at first, for a while he missed the mess the awaited him. Not for long though, as a great gob of the fearsome fibersped towards his unsuspecting nasal passage. Exhaling quickly, Chisen's eyes opened and surveyed the damage.

"Took you long enough to come out, 'master'. Getting pretty?"

"You! How did you get in here?"

The old dog stretched and yawned.

"Passed through your barrier. Even a pup could put up a better one than that."

"Begone. Get out of my home."

"Listen, pup. I was here way beyond your grandfather even. I was here when this community was barely started. I am tired of being ordered around by someone weaker than I. It ends today, pup."

Chisen's eyes widened, the only expression showing through the thick mask of fear. Briefly, he wondered what had happened to break his hold on the demon. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a vial of holy water from some Shrine. Ebay had been kind enough to provide him the needed link to obtain this. Uncapping it, he flung a stream toward the impure creature.

The water didn't even phase the oncoming demon. Instead, it only seemed to make him stronger, and a chilling cackle issued from the animal's throat.

"Even the most holy object can became tainted when too long in the possession of an evil being. Surely you have something better than that."

A packet of salt came at the malicious being next, followed by one of ash. Neither had any effect.

"No powers from within, pup? Have you gone so far down the dark path that your gifts have been taken or bound? Pity. I was hoping for more of a challenge."

The Blood Wizard was now backed against a wall, staring at the demon he thought he had once controlled. The more he thought about it however, the more he realized he had never controlled him. The beast had just played along, biding his time.

"Before I take your life, there is something I want to show you."

The sorcerer could only watch, overrun with terror as mist surrounded the dog, then faded away to leave the form of a man. Though the skin was pale as the moon, and the coarse clothing a stained white, he could recognize this man. The snow-white hair gleamed even in the dawn's filtered white, flowing around him as if the replace the coat he had once worn. Bloodthirsty golden eyes glared at him, twin daggers ready to fire through his very soul. How many generations had the servant hidden this ability was a question he would never be able to give voice.

A feral smile slashed across the demon's face, revealing gleaming ivory fangs. Although much had changed, the teeth had not. An iron fist slammed into Chisen's side, causing his side to explode in fire. Pain wracked the human's body, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Enjoy your pain. It will be the last thing you will feel in this world or the next."

The creature tucked into the whipped being before him, relishing repaying the abuse that he had suffered for so long. Betrayal was repaid by betrayal, unto the last generation of the house of Mahou, the wheel of karma spinning uncaring. Hours later, the wizard expired, feeling the teeth of his former slave opening the passage to his life blood, and being suckled until he was dry. The demon then went to rest within his jizo in the yard. The corpse would lay where it fell until late in the night, when he had been missed at work and a worried boss had asked the police to look for him. The death was never satisfactorily explained.

* * *

Aniki - big brother


	14. Capping the Spring, Unleashing One's Nat...

Underwater Savior

Chapter 14: Capping the Spring, Unleashing One's Nature

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

A shadowed figure passed through even darker halls beneath the surface of the earth. All around him was the trickle of the filtered water coming to his realm from the realm of the mountain dragon above him. The air was cool, as it usually is under the earth and out of the sun. Here in his stronghold, he was unaware of the problems that raged overhead.

This innocence to the happenings above were not without reason. He only paid attention to females, what was going on within his world and at the surface of his spring. Every once in a while he would go above and pay a visit to his good friend Kohakunushi. The visits that had once been common became fewer and far between as the two had grown up though. As they grew older, their respective parents had passed to them more responsibilities, which eventually culminated in complete care of the areas they now lived in. Kohakunushi had it fairly easy, charged with the carriage of the all-important water, while Ten had to store it or let it flow based on the need. As the spirit of a spring, he was also a personification of fertility, as through this realm came life from the earth.

Ten was feeling especially lonely today. It was probably brought on by a short visit from Kohakunushi's father. The old dragon had not seen the mother of his only child in a long time, as she lived far away in the sea. The two men had a long discussion about the volume of the rains which had passed, and the amount of snow that would be coming in the winter. Ten needed to know how much water would be needing to go both below and above so that he himself did not get floated out of his home.

A strange feeling passed through him, which he dismissed quickly.

'Probably just another squirrel getting a drink.'

Sighing, Ten made for the meeting hall, which also served as his study. As his feet plodded woodenly along the stone floors, the occasional light from a crystal would reveal a bit of brown skin, or a flash of dark robes. As he thought of the paperwork that he had to tackle today, his pace slowed even more. He had been putting it off for a really long time, and would probably need to swim through it to even find his hidden desk. How extremely boring. Maybe it would mysteriously float away and save him from the horror.

* * *

In contrast to the bored and lonely spring guardian, an overcrowded and flustered river guardian was currently trying to avoid his two head housekeepers. Already, some of the spirit denizen of the upper river were begging sanctuary in the deeper river as had been done in times of drought. Being the guardian, he had to let them in. Of course, this was confusing to the housekeepers and they were boggled by the sheer amount of rumors.

"So did you get the demon? I bet you pulled his head clean off his body and tore him to bits, huh? Was it gross?"

"What's this about the upper river being in trouble? Where am I going to put everybody without them having to fill the secret caverns too? How does a human destroy a river? Don't let us die master!"

It carried on like that, the two spirits sounding like little children who had either eaten too many sweets or been told one to many spooky stories. Obviously, it did nothing for the River Lord's concentration, nerves, or temper. He was trying to keep himself under control though, and so merely avoided answering the questions. He had one more object to procure, then he could start. He would need to go and retrieve the statue that had once been thrown into the headwaters for safe keeping.

"Master? Is it really that bad? Are we going to die? Why won't you say anything?"

Kohakunushi stopped and looked at his loyal servants. They were far enough from the refugees that he hopefully wouldn't start a panic if he spoke in whispers.

"Do not repeat anything, is this understood?"

Nods and wide eyes were his answer. His heavy gaze locked with their own, and they saw that their beloved master was struggling under the weight of all his responsibilities. He was but one young dragon with many problems. The weariness in his eyes frightened them. It was the look of a noble who knew his end would be coming, yet still tended to his people. An impossible breeze past between the Lord and his servants moaning a quiet song of death, and they knew that the omen was bad.

"In less than two weeks, the humans will begin taking over the upper river, the part that ties us in to the human world. Many more will seek refuge, and the armed will stay above to fight for the river. That includes myself. The humans have technology that will eventually sway the war in their favor."

"But master, that means that you could die if it is a war. During drought you merely slept here, but if nature is fought against. . ."

"Probably. I can't hide from fate though. The other problem is that the demon is still above. That is the other reason I will be there. I will see to it that he is gone."

"What happens if he kills you?"

"Then the fight to keep the above portion must continue. Many of our refugees can't survive for too long without the light from the sun. They are ill equipped for life here."

The spirits could feel the stone weight of destiny pressing on them, suffocating their hope and dreams of the future. Free will only took you so far, then destiny had her say. It seemed fortune would not be with them.

The dragon slid into the underground river, sliding upstream through the blackness. It struck him how this was a perfect metaphor for his life, always swimming in the darkness and unsure if he was going the right way or doing the right thing. It was strange, but as he went further upriver, the current seemed to be getting stronger than usual, as if more water was being channeled this way than usual.

'Odd, I don't remember Father having plans for more runoff at this time of year. It's not that warm.'

* * *

Ten had finally gotten behind his desk, settled amongst drifts of white paper. It looked rather like the mountain spirit had decided to leave him a few piles of snow as a joke, except that the flakes all were large and rectangular. Well, it was a nice fantasy anyway. He still hated paperwork though.

After a bit, he felt a lapping at his toes, like water. Looking down to make sure that he was just hallucinating out of boredom, what he saw sent his mind into a whirlpool of confusion. At that time, a servant barged in.

"Master! The halls are flooding!"

'Crap. So much for it just being imagination.'

The papers began to soak up water, while others began to float away. The water level continued rising, lapping greedily at his calves now. Sloshing through the liquid life that was now beginning to take on a hint of wild desperation, the spring god made his way to the view mirror. With a thought, the scrambled swirls focused and calmed, revealing his once placid surface. Men were there, with large machinery, lowering heavy rocks into his gorgeous pool. The water darkened correspondingly, slowly losing the life it once held shining within.

A roar raged through the halls and passages of the Spring of Sacred Life, chilling the inhabitants to the bone. The roar carried through the water to the ears of another water being, and the answering roar carried a question that only the dragon species had the understanding to decipher. Another roar spilled from the Spring Lord's now much larger throat, answering the question with pain and confusion. A bronze dragon with scales so dulled with fury he looked brown with an even darker spiked mane then rampaged towards the surface of the spring, calling to his swiftly approaching friend to meet him at the border of the human world and his own.

Still the water rose, carrying more paper away.

* * *

The keeper of the Kohakugawa had won his way to the halls of the Spring World. Water flowed by swiftly, seeking passage to complete the dance it had done since its birth, carrying away bits of paperwork that obviously had not been securely filed away and now granted the freedom the trees had to sway their branches in the wind currents.

He remembered the panicked sound of his best friend's voice. How could the spring be blocked? He shot through the rising waters, intent on getting to the border between the Spring and Human worlds to find the problem. He was worried though, his friend had not sounded so panicked since the first time he had met a human.

Finally, he gained the meeting point in the borderland. Relief coursed through his veins and lightened his frame as he took in the dark and wild being before him, seeing the other dragon unharmed. The normally brown eyes were now dark with worry and fear though.

'The humans! They blocked the spring! They will drown the few beings down there who must breath the air! I can't channel all this extra water through the underground portion of your river! We have to stop them!'

Sheer and utter panic. Of course the water would all go through the other half of the river. It had done so before he was hatched from his egg and the water began trickling down his bed after all, why would it not be able to do the same now? They did need to unblock it somehow though, otherwise the animals above would have no drink, and the Fukaikohakugawa river passed too deep for the shallower rooted plants to obtain the water. Then he remembered when the two were young and delighted in causing avalanches from the mountain peaks. He smacked the other god on the head with his tail.

'We can push the blockage out Ten.'

'. . . oh. Yeah.'

Kohakunushi shook his head. Even though he was the younger of the two gods, he was the more mature. In reply, Ten stuck out his tongue.

'Real attractive. That's part of why no female wants you to court them. Besides, now you're drooling. Every female down-river is going to be pregnant if you don't stop.'

A roar of aggravation shook the walls. The humans above heard it, but only interpreted it as a pressure buildup below of some kind. They proceeded to build the sides of the pool up higher, to contain any extra water that would seep up.

'Well, at least you're not panicking anymore. Take your aggravation out on the blocks.'

The duo surged forward, bellowing. Straining against the rocks, they went past a tarnished dragon statue. Finally, they could push no more. At least there was a hole now, and water swiftly began filling up the human modified pool, shooting upward from the pressure of the two dragons directing it. Once the below ground emergency state was taken care of, Ten slowed the flow and the above ground river flowed on. It was a bit slower and lower output than it once was, but at least it carried on. The dragon connected to it felt a little ill though. Other machinery was already siphoning off extra water, here and further down river.

On their way back down, he snatched the statue. Ten saw this, but said nothing. He could wait until they were someplace more suitable. His friend was looking very worn. He obviously had been on the go for a very long time, and even dragons needed to be still at times.

* * *

Within the nameless mountain above the spring and river, a very large tatsu stirred nervously, two pieces of jade peering through the inky blackness as short waves of gold flowed from his neck and tail. The white and gold being was responsible for bringing the rains and snows to the area, and for causing the snow melt to be filtered by his mountain, purifying the water stores for his homeland. A tatsu's normal abode was a lake, sea, or other deep body of water, but he preferred the rugged terrain and cold winds that howled over the rocky peaks.

What caused this ancient scaled being such unease was a simple thing really. It seemed that his runoff was building up in the passages. It wasn't much of a problem actually, as he had nothing that could be harmed by the waters. What worried him was the reason for the build up. He hated not knowing why something was happening.

As quickly as it happened, it was gone. A little foam was left behind on the walls as the main body torrented gleefully away, carrying life to the land and messages of reassurance and well-being to a much beloved k'uh-lung of blue and green in the distant sea.

'Odd. I wonder what happened.'

Looping his way through the tunnels, Tatsu patiently approached the way to his craggy peaks. Perhaps he would be able to see something from there. The several thousand years he had lived had only improved his sight and strengthened his spreading horns.

* * *

During all of this time, Chihiro had walked from her home's little garden all the way to her grandfather's house and somehow convinced him to take her to the Sacred Spring. Koji had called her mother to make sure it was alright, and found that she was now feeling very sick and that she would actually appreciate it if he kept her the whole day. Needless to say, Koji had been very surprised. Chihiro was worried about her, but she figured maybe if she brought back some of the water it would help her mom feel better.

Koji had contrived a seat on the back of his bicycle where he strapped her securely so she would not fall, tied his pants and sleeves up securely, and set off. A hastily thrown together picnic was brought as well, to be eaten at the spring.

They were stunned when they found workers sullying the ancient site. The black smog from the machines made the air smell of the oil that powered them, while rocks created a small dam holding back some of the water from the river that gave so much life to the area. The current was slower than usual, and the water did not dance nearly as energetically as it once had.

"Haku! NO! Ji-chan, they're hurting Haku!"

The child's voice rang clear and true above the melee of machinery before them, causing workers to pause and look for the source. A large man turned from what he was directing and gasped. His eyes then locked with those of his father, and he wilted below the heavy disapproval and shock written so clearly there. Swallowing his guilt quickly, he became as the iron ore.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here! Now!"

Hearing the man her father had become, the child's cries only became louder as she began screaming for her friend. The aging grandfather comforted her as best he could, before turning back to the son who had once been so innocent.

"Mark my words, my son. A river can never die or be controlled. Somehow, he will take back what is his."

With this, he turned around, and pedaled for a place higher up the mountain. It was a place that he had never taken his son, and never would. This was a place known only to the Priests of the various kami of the area. It was in the domain of one more powerful than the river or the spring, but somehow, he knew the child with him would be welcomed and comforted there.

His granddaughter continued to scream, large drops of moisture streaming from her eyes as she cried a river of her own for the one she saw her beloved father harming.

"They're killing him!"

* * *

A child's wailing reached the ears of the dragons, and Kohakunushi only lowered his head and closed his eyes. Fists became rocks as his body trembled in the control of his rage, jade becoming steel. Above, in the river proper, water foamed and crashed, reflecting its master's anger, sending the humans into confusion.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here! Now!"

"What's wrong?"

"I know that voice, and I know the wails. To think I saved his family last night. I should have left the spell on him and only helped her."

"Woah there! What spell? Save who?"

"You'd know if you even came to any of the meetings."

"I haven't gotten any summons."

A few papers floated to Ten's feet as the last of the water was making its way out.

"You would if you ever stayed up with your paperwork."

". . ."

Kohakunushi sighed and told his story as they sank to the floor in the meeting hall.

* * *

Within the Fukaikohaku, the water level had risen alarmingly high very suddenly as the current had gained its strength, greedily sucking in anyone who got too far in. It had also caused a mess. There was paper everywhere.

"Where did all this come from? The library is shut up tight!"

A sightless white fish currently living in a bucket that had miraculously not been swept away finished nudging out the limp intruder. A lizard carefully flipped it over.

'Ten. I will be visiting to discuss the waters in a couple weeks. Tatsu.'

It was dated a month ago.

"Looks like Ten didn't keep up with his paperwork again."

"We could always put it back in the river."

"And get Lord Kohaku's mom mad at us for putting it back? No."

"There's a lot to clean up, huh?"

"Yup."

The fish heaved a weary sigh. Silence reigned for a moment in her encompassing splendor, then the flow of the river reversed. Foaming anger surged upstream, answering the call of the master, lending strength and determination stored in the flowing deep. Those who had not been washed away in the former onslaught of their own element retreated further from the river, recognizing the rage of their Lord and Master and securing themselves in the refugee rooms.

"Bring it on."

* * *

'So they want to put apartments over your bed, which they have just started work on today almost two weeks early. Then there is this monster who seems bent on being a nuisance and has now taken a more than unhealthy interest in your future priestess. And that happened just last night?'

'Yes.'

'He made an attack on a human.'

'Yes.'

Ten smacked Kohakunushi's head with his tail.

'There's your loophole. Attack him wherever and whenever. By the rules of combat, at the time you go into the fight now you will not be visible to the human world, unless it's somebody with The Sight. If the child sees, you are perfectly entitled to hide those memories for her.'

'That is what I am going to do, except I'd rather not have her in the position to need that at all. I've got something to take care of first though.'

Ten watched curiously as his friend's backside slowly retreated towards his home. He took careful note of the swish of tail, the slight dullness of scale, and the less energetic wave of mane.

'I hope he knows what he's doing. Wish he'd let me help.'

* * *

As he approached the surface, Kohakunushi reestablished the link with the ancient statue. It began to warm as the magics lurking within began to flow once more, reaching out and feeling around, recognizing the call of the self. Ivory fangs bared in pain glinted in the light of awakening and anchoring echoed by the silver of the statue.

At last, it was done, and he set the statue down by the rock it had originally been beside. Now, if he died from the loss of the river or a wound of battle, his spirit would still be tied here, protective and waiting for her need. Feeling secure finally, he drifted up towards the distant watery light intent on punishing the humans who attacked not only his home, but had the gall to attack his friend's as well.

Not to mention the heartbreak caused to his treasure.

With a roar, the waters began to foam and rise, preparing to flood the countryside. If he could break their precious iron machines that they worshiped so, then they would have to stop for a while. Maybe he could buy some more time to defeat the monster and even save his home. If it was severely haunted, who would want to risk angering the spirits.

He coiled one last time and prepared, waiting for the best moment.

* * *

Words

Tatsu - These are the spiritual dragons (ryu) of imperial power. Spiritual dragons created the rains and wind for mankind. White dragons symbolize death.

K'uh-lung - a Chinese dragon born of a type of seaweed. Lung is a Chinese word for dragon.

Fukaikohakugawa - Deep Kohaku river

Reviewer Corner (gasp, it's actually here)

KatsyKat - you'll see why the torture (so it builds the suspense) hopefully I'll be able to make it clear why he was such a pushover in R. N. D. though. Weak old dog. Actually, I kind of pity the guy. Poor Greed, poor Kohaku.

Aharah Musici: Thanks

NitenGale: Don't worry, when I leave a review it sometimes only consists of "wow".

Shadows-insanity: updated!

Every Bishounen's True Love: updated!

R. K. F. questions will be answered in the next chapter of that. evil smile


	15. Rage, Disease and Prophecy

Underwater Savior

Chapter 15: Rage, Disease and Prophecy

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

I will now be dedicating this story to my cat MoonBeam, who passed away the night of January 8, 2005. He lived 12 long years, 11 years longer than we had ever expected him to. My child, my friend, my confidante, my muse, you shall be missed, but I know we will never part.

One of his favorite things to do was to sit in my lap as I wrote, and this is the last chapter we did together, before we went to bed last night.

* * *

The men above the spring were in confusion. The water had begun rising, forcing many of the slabs of concrete and rocks of granite being used to cap the depths out of their places. Finally, only one was left to stem the flow, and just barely at that. Then, the waters attained a weary kind of peace again.

It only lasted about an hour though, only giving them enough time to improve the size of the pool in case of overflow. Already, the pumps were hastily drawing water from the river, transporting it in trucks to a holding facility. The men, including Mr. Ogino, did not understand why it was to be done this way, but it was the orders.

A worker, wedging a rock in the restraining wall, noticed the uneasy waters beginning to foam again. He barely had time to shout a warning as they swiftly began to rise. In answer, the river itself had foamed as well, and strangely risen. As the waters reached the peak of their fury, the reservoir overflowed, and the curling tide took the shape of a dragon for those who had active imaginations.

Including Mr. Ogino. Shaking off the thought, he was about to bark to the others to get back to work. What stopped him was the feeling that if he did, he would never see his little girl again. It wasn't like harm would come to her, but it was like the very river itself would feel no guilt in swallowing him up. It was as if he had done some great transgression, with no way to repay it.

The flood waters rose higher, flooding the engines of the machines, sending the men to sit on the tops of whatever the highest object they could reach was. Akio was currently on top of one of the trucks. In the water though, for a brief instant he thought he saw some steely eyes glowing with righteous anger, shielded by the pain of betrayal.

Akio would feel guilty if he didn't think those eyes were just an optical illusion. The illusion had scared him none-the-less, frozen caresses running down his spine while eating away at his heart with dulled teeth.

His mind replayed his daughter's screams in his mind.

'Chihiro. I'm sorry honey, but you need more friends than Lily and the river.'

Like the iron ore, he had not been tempered and forged, gaining in strength. No, due to his own choices and renouncing his innocence for the second time he had fallen into the bottom of the smelter, mixing in with the slag. Instead of losing impurities, he only picked them up. Like the foolish ore deep in the mountains, he too, thought he was pure.

* * *

Kohakunushi frothed the waters, giving the humans a warning to escape before it was too late, then let them settle into wary state, listening to see if his warning was taken advantage of. They only continued to build the walls up more, hoping the contain the overflow. He thought it a silly sentiment, since water would flow whether you tried to stem it or not. At last, he grew tired of waiting.

How dare they not listen to his warning. How dare they cause his little jewel such stress. And finally, why the hell wasn't her mother taking care of her like a mother should?

It was that last thought that whipped the waters enough to escape the prison they were contained in, white fingers of rage reaching out to sweep away the cause of pain. Half-way water and half-way dragon, he roared over the wall, the force of his passage knocking much of it down and scattering the stones around.

Climbing up the ugly yellow machines, the water herself eagerly set about her master's bidding, flooding engines and sweeping away what it could. Humans scrambled like the monkeys they were up to the tops. Unlike the dragon who was after a monkey heart though, the dragon of the Kohaku river would not be tricked. He was furious and his waters roared so the mortals would quake in their fear.

As Kohakunushi circled about one truck, seeking a way to incapacitate the hateful thing further he spied the one who was triggering this rage. There, cowering upon the highest reaches, Akio huddled. Turning his twin pools of molten feelings too jumbled for him to understand, filtered only with the pain of the betrayal by his one-time friend and charge, he swore his vengeance. Somehow, the human would pay for what he had done to him and to Chihiro. He projected a thought of how easily the river could sweep him away. Another thought, one of how under other circumstances the human child he had become bonded to would have been taken to where he could protect her forever from the pains humans inflicted on each other.

If his river were not besieged.

The dragon smirked to himself as he saw the raw iron before him shiver. His threat had been understood on some level. He allowed himself to calm, waters again responding to the master's emotions, receding back to within their ancient banks as he flowed down the bed to spread the alarm and hopefully get some clue as to were his nemesis was.

* * *

Greed had finished his little rest, and long ago had gone to the 'lab' as he had dubbed it in his mind. With the little snake gone, he could be certain of getting inside without an alarm being raised to the other kami. He would have liked to feel as her lifeless body slid down his throat, to land in his acidic pool and then filling his body with sweet sustenance, but it could wait.

First, he wanted to find some new toys. He was certain that he could find many interesting things here.

Stepping out of the bushes, he was pleased that his clothing had imitated the tight white overcoats worn by the weaklings that worked here. His unnaturally white hair pulled itself into a low horsetail, falling down his back to sway behind in imitation of his normal tail.

He was very happy when the security guards merely waved him through, busy with their coffee and lunches. His black shoes tapped out the rhythm of ancient forests frequented by his ancestors, the nearly empty halls echoing and filled with the sound. Holding his breath in anticipation of any who would recognize him as not part of the facility, he was ecstatic when no one challenged his right to be there. After a short time, the samples room sprung up on his right.

Having no need of the protective clothing waiting outside the airlock, he went in, and grabbed several vials of death. Some would be slow, some would be fast. A few could be carried by animals and insects, then gifted to the humans he despised so. Ivory fangs glinted in the lights, pleasured by the fact that with this many samples, he could do damage over a long time, and none could say exactly what disease was the problem. Although most of these were common problems, together in the same area, it would seem an epidemic.

Slipping these into his pockets, he left the room. Again, no one challenged him as he left, and he briefly wondered how a supposedly secret government facility could be so lax. It did not worry him though. They too would pay for their mistake.

'Hmm. Maybe I'll give that girl and her little friend a taste of my new medicine. The stupid dragon loves to play healer. Now to find someone to carry my message.'

As he padded through the woods around the facility, he spied a little squirrel attempting to scramble into a hole much too small.

'Perfect.'

* * *

Koji had stopped in a clearing far from the defiled spring. Birdsong lilted through the air, carried aloft by gentle winds from the mountain. Trees swayed back and forth, dancing beneath the kisses of Amaterasu. Soft grass blanketed the area, beckoning the distressed duo to sink onto it and shed their woes. A small cave led from somewhere inside the mountain to the sacred place, either offering or guarding velvet mysteries as it saw fit.

Chihiro was still mourning the loss of her friend. He had been a good dragon, not hurting anybody. What had he done to deserve such a cruel fate? She had seen the pain and confusion in the river. How the innocent had wished to run to him, plunge herself into his depths, and somehow make it all better, the way he did for her! The wails, which once had faded to merely jagged breaths, now rose full force again as broken pieces of a once calm soul struggled to maintain their place.

Keening like this had never been heard by the old dragon before, who had been considerably surprised to hear them upon exiting his home. Tall and imposing in his humanoid form, the snow of his robing stirred in the breezes. His hair was the night sky that the rains would come to him through, snaking its way behind him and past his buttocks in the manner of the spring's runoff down his back. He hesitated at the mouth of the cave, the nature of his golden mother causing him to prefer only appearing at the perfect moment., a trait passed to his own offspring as well.

The child needed comfort though, and as his forest orbs settled on the man holding her quaking form, his decision was made. Whatever the problem was, it would be grave if a priest was taking refuge here with so little. Bare feet passed over the ground, beating out the rhythm found only deep within the caverns of nature's filter, yet still carrying the grace of the rolling sea they had once emerged from.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Looking up through her tears as her grandfather gasped in awe, she saw the figure she was the most afraid for. A shout, then the child hurled her small frame at the kneeling man.

"Kohaku!"

The strange child fell promptly asleep in his arms, as he tensed. He had held no child since his son was young, and the way she called him by his son's name filled him with dread.

"Nigihayami Tatsu-sama, please forgive my granddaughter for her forwardness. She's just suffered a terrible shock, and your son looks so much like you in this form."

Tatsu shifted himself and the child into a more comfortable position, deep-seated paternal instincts coming into play. Something about holding the child felt so nice, probably due to the absence of the mars humanity usually wore upon themselves. Or perhaps it was merely a longing to be included again.

"I am not worried by her forwardness, she is but a child still, and my own son would be the same way at times. What is it that drives you and she to seek sanctuary here with so few supplies? If you need to stay here, we shall have to procure you more. Another warlord is not sweeping through the area after priests I hope."

The Mountain Lord had not truly been out amongst the others since around the time of Nobunaga's fateful sweeps of the Buddhist Monasteries, so to him, the memories were still fresh, marring the youth of his face. He had never understood the man's need to kill priests, as in his eyes, Shinto and Buddhism had been complementary. Both faiths had drawn from the same eternal source, so why would one have been more desirable than the other?

"No Lord. We were going to the spring, and planned to have a picnic there when we found it being covered, and men were trying to drain the river."

"Preposterous. Why would anyone try to drain a river? Do they not want the water that my son and his friend bring to them?"

"I'm sure they want the water, my Lord. However, they want the land too. The population has grown, and more people move to the area, making housing and land a precious thing. They want to build homes where your son flows."

"Troublesome."

Tatsu fell silent as he contemplated the news. His only son could very well die if he did not manage to stop the humans or to take refuge in the Fukaikohakugawa, the hatching grounds of the Nigihayami line. Knowing his stubborn son, he would refuse to hide, instead doing what he could to preserve his river.

The child in his arms began to cry out again, drowning in some deep nightmare ocean current, calling for Kohaku to save her from the terrible dog spirit. His body now swayed in time with waves of earth and sea, slipstreams of air tangled with fiery tongues of poetry to lull the child into a more restful sleep, thereby giving her a wooden raft to navigate her dream.

"What is this dog spirit?"

"A dog spirit has been interfering with your son's duties, and terrorizing poor Chihiro. I think it went after her last night, but she won't talk about it much, just that your son saved her.

"Very troublesome. It seems that destiny is after my boy already."

"I do not understand."

"When my mate was brooding over the egg that became Kohakunushi, she received a vision. The being singing to her she could not see, but this was the song."

Dragon young shall lose his Pearl.

Water spirit shall save the girl.

River lost, child must guard,

For evil demon plays his card.

Child grows, to Spirit Away,

Choice is made, she may not stay.

Dragon younger, must now grow strong,

To be older, the training is long.

Woman now, the river revives,

to the dragon, are pledged her lives.

By her Pearl, he'll gain his Pearl,

Priestess now, no longer girl.

Love the Kohaku must surely learn,

The gift she gives he dare not spurn.

Love and rivers take many forms,

it is these truths, that strengthen horns.

Silence wrapped her cloak about the clearing as despair nibbled on the hearts of those who were awake. There was no point in it, the river would be lost. Kohakunushi was to fight a useless battle to save his river. In order to save his river, he had to let it die and protect Chihiro, who had played right into the prophecy that even the priest had not known about.

Tatsu was the most aggrieved, for he could do nothing in this battle to help, the river and lowlands not being his lands. Far away, in the sea, a certain k'uh-lung paused in her job of evaporating the sea water to become rain as a certain river's water brought to her impressions of what was happening to her son. In her worry, tears joined the sea as water evaporated faster. The next rainstorm would be very large indeed.

Could Kohaku let go of the river, or would he doom himself by not seeing the real threat to his continued existence?

* * *

Words

Smelter - machine used to melt metals and remove impurities.

Slag - leftovers from the bottom of a boiler (ash, wood, coal, stuff like that, it's almost like rock and if it contained enough carbon, one could pressurize it into low-quality diamond)

Nigihayami - lively water (in case anybody needed review)

Reviewer Corner

Aharah Musici: ::Collapses sobbing:: I want to save it, really! But if I do, we have the whole conflict with the inspiring movie AND making 'Rivers Never Die' not come to be. Think of the terrible time conflicts. Hmm . . . Think of the fun with correcting the paradoxes . . .

::Tackled by Kohakunushi:: Don't get any more ideas Rain, and leave Chihiro alone for good measure. ::Stalks off::

Geeze, what an overprotective dragon, it's just a story. ;)


	16. Messages and Diversions

Underwater Savior

Chapter 16: Messages and Diversions

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

I will now be dedicating this story to my cat MoonBeam, who passed away the night of January 8, 2005. He lived 12 long years, 11 years longer than we had ever expected him to. My child, my friend, my confidante, my muse, you shall be missed, but I know we will never part.

* * *

Greed had caught the squirrel easily, calling upon his natural hunter's skills and a little bribery. Enticed by the illusion of the juiciest berry the poor thing had ever seen, he was pulled towards his doom, first eventual casualty of the new death. Death, in the guise of Greed smiled benignly as the small creature took the item from his hand, smoothing a callous hand over its back. The deceived ate its prize as if it would disappear in one second, unknowingly becoming the first bearer of a new evil. The creature then scampered happily away, leaving nothing but a little dirt in the hand of the beast, what once appeared to be the berry.

Pleased with himself, the demon looked at the vial that had been in his hand. Curious about what had been coiled in the tiny prison, the tainted creature read the label.

'Unknown virus collected from West Nile area. Attacks central nervous system.'

He knew not what he had just unleashed on the area, but he knew that it had to be bad. That was all he wanted. He was off to distribute these new time bombs about the area, uncapping some of the monsters while secreting others in areas prone to flood. The guardian would no doubt cause a few floods in fighting back, and would unknowingly release the flus and other plagues that he himself had not.

It would serve the conceited dragon right, for cavorting around and meddling with the lives of mortals.

* * *

Faster than any normal current, the River Lord raced through his channel, banners of confusion, fear, indignation, and anger in his wake. As he passed by, the alarm spread throughout the multitudinous spirits that the time was now. Kami of the surrounding area, who had bowed to the Lord as he was their lifeblood, answered the silent call to arms. Trees and plants took on a mysterious new life, dancing with the non-existent winds, confusing the humans who had long ago tuned out the wonders of the natural world. An unseen current stirred and connected all, spirits issuing forth invisibly, pouring along the land and with the waters, sending chills throughout the mortals who only deemed it a passing wind, or fear of the flood.

There was one particular family of spirits that did not answer the call of the Bringer of Liquid Life. The Tsuni family stayed in their corporate stronghold, which also had secret belowground living quarters for the 'special' employees. Tsukaimono currently was restrained in her quarters, unsure as to why the door would not open. At the same time, Ni was a coiled spring tightly wound, nervously bouncing back and forth in his spartan office. His eye was drawn to the window as water and spirit passed by in a flash flood, bent on searching out the second draining station, where some of the river was now passing more hurriedly into irrigation canals.

'All you'll find are irrigation canals running pumps at full speed Kohaku, and those you have treaties not to harm. I hope the distraction of hunting the second unit will be enough to get the work done.'

* * *

Koji was on his way home, slumbering child tied securely to her seat. The dragon had been fascinated by the iron horse, and with something within Chihiro that only he could see. What it was though, was beyond Koji.

The ground seemed a little muddier than the last time they had passed. Thanks to all of the grass, it was still firm enough to ride the bike at least. Had there been a flood?

He passed the clearing where the spring was, and found workers hard at work, but not doing as he expected. Instead of securing caps and pumping water, they seemed to be letting water out of engine compartments, leaving them open to hopefully dry. True, a few worked like ants to rebuild the pool wall a little bit, but the others seemed distressed by the non-functioning pumps.

"Kohaku found a way to stall them it seems."

* * *

Koji was troubled by the low level and sluggishness of the river though. Where had all the water gone?

Below, Ten was troubled by the high levels of water now entering the underground river. He was sending all he could towards the aboveground river, but the partial blockage had overcome Nature's plan. Only a small portion of the needed water now saw the light of Amaterasu, and he could feel the lethargy beginning to take over the dragon who was as good as brother to him.

There was nothing he could do.

* * *

Koji continued on. When the men were finally done desecrating the spring, he would have to go and cleanse it. Exposed dirt between patches of grass slowly turned from overset chocolate pudding back to bonded and packed sand and gravel. It seemed the flooding had been very local, the water dragon probably having taken advantage of a pressure buildup, bound by the laws of nature.

The trees had taken on a different quality, whispering amongst themselves like old women at a festival speaking of the latest gossip or planning some surprise for a lonely sister. They were at once menacing and welcoming, as if they recognized who he belonged to after a moment's consideration. He could not remember them being this active of their own accord, though as a young child he had once heard stories about the activity of tree spirits. A normal person would have thought it just the wind, ignoring the absence of it. It seemed that the expected loss of the river worried more than just those immediately affected.

A twig snapped to the right, slightly behind him, and the trees seemed to be even more agitated, if it were possible, slowly closing branches together behind the two humans as if to shield them from some approaching evil. A gasp issued from the child, warning of the stalking death-bringer thirsting after them, empty breath absent of hope and bleak as a midwinter night.

"He's here, Ji-chan. He's coming for me."

A glance behind as the once strong man circled his feet through the air, conjuring a speed won from foot races of long ago amongst other warrior priests at obsolete shrines, urging the metal horse to gallop upon round hooves of rubber towards safety and away from the grasping cold of half-sensed unknown. Fear ran from every pore of the child, her face half-turned behind them, gazing at what only she could see, the light of hope missing from eyes now dark and brown, staring at the doom crashing through tree.

The wind, having had enough of rest, chose that moment to rise, sweeping up loose leaves to swirl and dance, weaving a weak screen to curtain the fleeing duo, at the same time racing to carry news to the being responsible for the care of his possessions of fleshly mien. A tailwind added emphasis on the speed of the bike, but even with the help of the wind kami, it was not enough. A flash of white, sign of impending death coming gleefully to claim both daitoku and future miko, was all that Koji could see before their conveyance was knocked to the ground. After that, Koji lost himself to the encroaching darkness, unable to defend the child still bound in the rear seat.

The wind kami, unable to touch anything in a meaningful manner in any world, did the only thing it could.

Having no voice of it's own, it carried the child's scream and a snippet of the prophecy it had heard in the Sacred Clearing to the son of mountain and sea.

* * *

Reviewer Corner:

Note for everyone! Check your reviewer and author alert lists. The site keeps turning mine off on me, just thought everybody else might be having the same problem.

KatsyKat: 'Rivers Always Claim What is Their Own' was pretty dark, huh? I don't think I'll do a story about the kids, although I might do a chapter about how her brother took the events. They do have a Shrine to run, and things aren't always very exciting at a Shrine (read, you watch the grass grow or scrub floors in many cases). But, we'll see.

KatsyKat again: It was hard to write that little bugger without using details and making it flow decently to boot. My poetry is rusty. At least it worked. The 'rents won't do a whole lot, but hopefully what they do can help. After all, a butterfly in Peking flaps it's wings and Mt. Shasta gets blizzards!

Fyraga: Well, here's the update. Glad you liked.


	17. Greed, Dragon, and the Treasure

Underwater Savior

Chapter 17: Greed, Dragon, and the Treasure

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Kohakunushi was feeling rather sick. His waters hadn't been this low in a very long time. The flow into his river had been slackened, and it wasn't enough to completely replace what was now flowing to the sea and his mother. To top it all off, he knew that somewhere down the line, more water than necessary was being drawn. The problem was, all he was finding was irrigation pumps.

The river's god allowed the waters to calm once again. He needed to rest. Something was pulling at him, calling him, begging his attention the way a neko will with a child who has fish. The dragon found himself a nice sandy bar to lounge on while he rested.

The other kami had already turned back, staying in their own areas of protection. Those of the river who could not fight were safe in the underground river, the plant spirits of the rich earth resigned to stunted growth or death. The river plants and regular fish would all die though, and there wasn't much he could really do, save forestall it.

He was about to head back upriver, when the wind brought to his ears a voice only echoed in ancient memories, deep and smooth as a hatchling's sleep.

Dragon young shall lose his Pearl.

Water spirit shall save the girl.

River lost, child must guard,

For evil demon plays his card.

'Since when does Father sing? If I'm hearing his song, that means that he's come to the surface for the first time in centuries. That's bad, he never goes aboveground anymore unless someone important is going to die.'

The wind kami then hurled one more thing in to the dragon. A child's screams returned his flagging energy, sending him flying through the water, undulating wildly to increase speed.

* * *

Greed had untied the struggling child, knocking her out before doing so. Somehow, he felt this child would be a threat to him if awake, but he wasn't sure how. Deciding to heed his instincts had been what provided for him, whereas squelching them had put him in this half-life.

He would not kill her yet though. That would be a waste. First, he must figure out how to get from her the river's heart. In his mind, the Celestial Pearl of the dragon and his heart had become synonymous, and who better to guard it than a small child. No one would think of the hiding spot. Somewhere, she must have it.

As he lifted the now unconscious child into his arms, his long white hair fell forward, a curtain veiling a living shintai within a befouled shrine. The once shining hair became coarse, more like the coat of a dog than the silken tresses of man. Intent upon the goal of reaching his jizo, it remained unnoticed of the mononoke elevated to youkai status. Not only did the child have the potential to channel the power of the river god for the benefit of man, she also, by the very nature of her soul's state, was a channel for the oneness of the Absolute.

Her soul had a secret weapon as well, though the Pearl's shell lay helpless in the arms of its captor. The very love inherent in children and the Shining Ningen had the potential to weaken and break the evil magic that had held this other soul captive for so long. Balance and order always found ways to assert themselves, male and female, dark and light, love and hate, greed and generosity.

The child's life would now be in the balance, soul of a shrine child lost so long ago, destined to return to perform the Kitoshi services necessitated by the greed of one male sorcerer from the house of Mahou.

The predator had enjoyed his hunt greatly, but what he was enjoying even more was the sight of the child, now bound and gagged, placed before his own altar, a sacrifice from himself to himself. With any luck, he would be completely free and avenged. Even if something went wrong, and he was thrust completely into the realm of death, it would be preferable to his existence.

* * *

Unbelievably, the hardened men at the spring had finally gotten the engines of their machines running again. A bit of WD-40, some toweling before hand, and many creative curse words and the water was being sucked out and trucked away. In addition, the retaining wall had finally been finished to specs, and a more suitable cap put on

Oddly, the outflow from the spring had begun to dwindle, suggesting that there did indeed exist the fabled underground river. As a result, the river's level was dropping noticeably now. Luck seemed to be with the men. The gathering storm clouds went unnoticed, their work now miraculously ahead of schedule.

From behind a tree, silent figure, robed in raiment of highest clouds, watched sadly as the humans bled the spirit who brought them life of his very blood. The spring was not his, nor was the river. The rules of their kind explicitly stated that although a dragon may visit the realm of another, he may not interfere directly in the affairs of the other's holding. Furthermore, all defenses launched in this case must be seen as natural, leaving the spring and river guardian few attacks where their realms overlapped.

The water that trickled sorrowfully into the river seemed to panic as it met the rest, mirroring the emotions within the keeper.

'So the first stanza's ending now begins. Fate's hand will hopefully bring my son back to me, through the child's salvation.'

* * *

Having risen up from the sea's concealing waters, Nyuuhakushoku, daughter of the sea weeds and ocean tides, link between waters of sea and sky, mounted her clouds, her green and blue fading and mixing with their shadows. So skillful was she with this art of camouflage, she mimicked closely the jewel whom her king had named her after, changeable with the light.

The prophecy was coming to be, and her son would need what time he could gain in order to find and protect the child. Her son, prideful as he could be, may choose to forsake the child and defend the river. She should have told him of the prophecy when he was old enough to understand. Foolishly, she and her mate had not, seeking to hide the knowledge in the hopes that it would not come to pass.

Now, if he did not find her, she would lose her only son. In the guise of the rain, she would give him the energy he was now lacking for his battle.

* * *

Ni felt the change in air pressure. It seemed that the expected storm was on it's way. Unfortunately, his 'kitsune senses' were on overtime. In addition to the pissed off river dragon now headed back upriver, he felt two worried older dragons on their way. The dragon from the Holy Mountain did not worry him, as he held no power in Kohakunushi's drainage.

What did worry him was the sea dragon riding the approaching clouds, charging the clouds with the electricity produced by her emotions. As the Sender of Rain, she could choose to place her water directly into Kohaku's care, extending his time in this world.

How was Kohaku supposed to wed and be happy if everybody helped him hide from women? Honestly, didn't anybody realize he was trying to help the darn dragon meet someone that didn't send him running for the nearest body of water?!

He was going to hide in the building until all effects of the storm were passed. She'd probably eat him otherwise. Yeah, hiding sounded good.

* * *

The wind kami was almost literally dragging Kohakunushi by his whiskers to where the shrine-child lay. In other words, he had left the safety of the river, now flying invisibly mixed with the wind to wherever her spirit was calling to him from.

He found a decrepit house in the old style, cloaked in parts with nature's bounty, and sections falling in. Landing, hind legs became humanesque while his form straightened and shrank, obscured in the place between times where the transformation always took place. His sword was on his hip, and a hand touched it for reassurance as he melded with the shadows, making his way around the outside.

In the back yard, bound and gagged, lay his Treasure, his Pearl, his Child. True to the vibration in all life, her chest rose and fell, bringing in the needed air while dispelling the used air. From where he was, he could see the angry bruise forming on the side of her head, rage filling in him seeing her hurt so. Koji was nowhere to be seen, hopefully not laying dead wherever they had been when attacked.

He should have been with her. Instead, he had chosen to fight in a battle whose outcome would not change the outcome of the war. His river was lost, only waiting for the merciful death blow to be struck. Plants and animals would die who would not survive without his environment. However, there had been someone he could help, and he had failed her.

His rage clouded his reason, and something inside of him broke, torn between two equally important charges. Had he not been so busy with other matters, and possibly sat through a psychology class, he would recognize in himself the beginning of a dissociative disorder. Too bad he hadn't.

The inu came out of the building, and the very last shred of reason was torn from his grasp, fluttering away like a Macaw swept up by a monsoon. His Child had begun to stir, and the pain in her grey eyes called to something deep inside himself, something dark and dangerous that all nature spirits tried to leave unprovoked.

His eyes, once the lovely greed of the jade hidden beneath the gravel or of the nutritious grasses his servants ate from the river bed, now were as the rubies and garnets, filled with wildfire. His roar caused the lands around to tremble, although it had only issued from a seemingly human throat. The winds picked up, feeding from negativity now streaming from the nature spirit. Midnight banners streamed behind him, waving and writhing, seeming as snakes of deepest hue. He may have been a god of sorts, but he was certainly not perfect, and his race's emotions could always be their downfall.

The dog-man looked to where the noise had originated, and was pleased to see his enemy. His enraged enemy at that. It would be easy to defeat him if he did not regain control of himself.

Greed had never seen a god mad. It struck him as odd that the only difference between a god, spirit, youkai, and mononoke was power level, and then they were all called kami. Go figure.

"Unbind her."

The voice from the young man was not the accustomed one, deeper and coarser, more like the groaning of buckling iron sheets on a ship far out to sea as some giant iceberg plays mumblety-peg with the hull. It was as if it issued from the deepest pits of the dragon's mind, as indeed it may have, the sleeping beast within having awoken.

"Make me."

The kami lunged at the youkai, sword flashing in the night, a silver death streaking towards its victim. The demon dodged, taking advantage of the dragon's forward momentum, sending him off balance.

"It seems, River Lord, that you have kept your darker side captive for too long. It can throw a good temper tantrum, but it makes a poor fighter now."

The dragon-man saw his point, the fury channeling itself into the blade, senses never before used now coming into play. Few gods these days encountered things that could sent them into this state, the kind and gentle parts now being quashed under the heel of his own mind. This was not about protecting a friend, this was not about a child. Nay, it was a challenge to his territory, even though within a short space of time as it passes for spirits there would be nothing to fight over. Chihiro was part of his territory, and would be one of the few pieces of it that would move on and have a future. He had to calm himself further if he didn't want to fall for any tricks.

"What would you do with her?"

"She fascinates me. How could a human distract a kami so? How could a kami establish such a strong bond to a mere child? How could a human child have captured a river's heart, a source of immortality if used properly?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Greed struck at him, hoping again to catch the young dragon off guard. All he was rewarded with was a slice of the lord's flowing robes, a split in the stream of white sleeve. It left Kohakunushi an opening to return the favor, seeing the large gap on his enemy's side his blade flicked toward the target, caressing the flesh and licking up the blood with silver tongue.

"To bring about the fullness of my revenge against my family, against the Tsuni whom my master had despised, and against you, who brought them such wealth. To that end, I will take what is precious to you, and when I am done, she too shall feel my wrath."

The shouting and clashing of the men and their metal had roused the young prisoner from her personal oblivion. Two brown-grey eyes opened upon the violent scene, taking in the blood flowing from the man-beast's side, and the tattered and dirtied robes of the one whom fate had bound her to. Searching his eyes for some trace of comfort, wanting only to know that it was a nightmare, and that everything would be alright, instead she was greeting by the glowing red eyes, the eyes of the kami who had once supposedly eaten an invading army in an era long ago. The eyes of the enraged dragon, now falling upon his territory, his young charge, flickered to the stony green that she knew, and then back as he fell upon his opponent once more.

'I'm sorry, Chihiro. I swear you will not remember this night.'

Wind issued from within, carrying with it the communication of its master to the ears of the one being whom he now despised beyond all things. This one would harm an innocent for such a measly thing as vengeance. He would meet his punishment, and hopefully be sent to the deepest depths of the Fires of Purification before continuing on his soul's path.

"She shall endure no such thing!"

Centuries of training now kicked in, bequeathed to him by his honorable father, and from before that his father's father, stretching all the way back to when the Nigihayami family first earned from the Dragon King they owed their allegiance to the right to bear a Sea Sword. He had learned the skill so well, that even in his deepest sleep his strikes would prove true.

Just as he was winning, ready to end the current phase of life for the mongrel before him, the tides turned. The humans, stubborn as they are, had managed to drain the river past its safety point after all. Less than half-full, so to was the River Lord's life force, while his opponent was considerably fresher than he in comparison.

The child witnessed the blood of her protector spill to the ground, his own red blood now feeding the ever thirsty ground.

Kohakunushi got back up from where he had fallen, determined to keep the dog away or die trying. Sadly, his loss of strength made his blocks and dodges much less effective. Steadily, he was losing his ground.

The final blow fell, the dog's low quality weapon still piercing his ribcage like a child will do to a grape, sending almost the last of his precious blood to dye his lovely white haori red. Consciousness escaped Kohakunushi, just before thunder clapped and rain began to loving wash his face.

The child the battle had been fought over began to cry from behind her gag, and as the demon began to approach her, her own childish aura began to flare its defense. The pale white pearl lay close to her body, as short spears of light poked towards the demon, soft and only effective against the weakest of nightmares.

* * *

Words

neko - cat

shintai - sacred object believed to house a kami

mononoke - animal spirit, demon

youkai - demon able to assume human form

Kitoshi - exorcist. Usually a male's job as sorcerers are usually female. Can be performed by women though, and generally the services seem to be thought to work best when the opponents are of opposite sex.

Mahou - sorcery.

Ningen - human(s)

Nyuuhakushoku - opal. Nyuuhaku - milky white or lactescent, Shoku - employment. Links to the job of wet-nurse in that aspect (rainmaker, water of life, nature's breastmilk took forever to figure out a good name for her).

Dissociative disorder - a condition where the person feels disconnected from reality. Types range from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Multiple Personality Disorder.

Macaw - type of parrot.

Mumblety-peg - A knife game where you strike the ground in between fingers, going faster with each pass until reaching an agreed upon ending time or cutting yourself. Do not try this at home (trust me, it can hurt, don't make my mistake).

Reviewer Corner:

Fyraga: I hope you like this too.

Placid Snowflake: Thanks

Aharah Musici: This is what will happen.

NitenGale: No, he wasn't always sickly, one just usually doesn't expect a cat mangled by a passing truck at the age of one to live very long, much less 11 additional years. Poor cat had been squashed, received broken bones and nerve damage, injuries to his digestive tract, and made to wear a cast so he could heal. Two weeks later, he uses the cast on his leg as a springboard to the counter. Amazing with all of that that he kept on going. Sometimes we also called him 'Energizer.'


	18. The Incident

Underwater Savior

Chapter 18: The Incident

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

I thought about saving this for a few days later, but last chapter was a rather cruel place to end it, so here it is for those in need of resuscitation

* * *

Koji woke to watch the grass pass by. It was a lovely shade of green really, and each blade was superbly shaped. He didn't often take the time to admire grass, except when his grandchild was with him. But where was she, hadn't they been on the bicycle?

Paying more attention, he saw two feet flash in and out of his vision, along with the occasional flash of white. Come to think of it, there was something sharp digging into his stomach.

"Chihiro!"

"Be still! There is a large disturbance down river according to the trees. We don't need that crazy wind kami accidentally carrying our voices. My son and your grandchild may be there. Just be glad that I found you before the storm broke."

So that was why he was wet. For some reason, Koji thought he had fallen in the river.

"Your energy signature is in an abode that we are approaching. Daitoku, are there any kitoshi supplies that you need to procure before we arrive at the disturbance."

"Staff and bow, my packets and vials are fully stocked. Thank you for finding me Lord Tatsu."

A grim smile settled on the dragon's face, one that had seen many battles in youth and been witness to many calamities.

"Don't thank me just yet, Daitoku. This kami fears what we may find."

Nyuuhakushoku gasped in horror at the sight before her. Her son, her only child, lay bleeding before the little girl who was bound and gagged behind him. She struggled valiantly, but what could a child do against such a monster as now encroached upon her very essence?

The child got to her knees somehow, strength born of determination no doubt filling her body. Hope flared briefly in the ryu-onna's breast, but was silenced once again. The innocent did not try to get away. Instead, she did something highly unexpected. She attacked, ramming her head into the demon's soft parts, doubling him over in agony.

Her aura flamed stronger as her eyes fell again upon the one she had befriended. Voice muffled, but still somewhat understandable, the child of the long abandoned Kohakugawa Shrine, called upon her kami.

"Haku! Get up! Please! Don't die!"

Pure white light then formed a shell around the girl, a single beam lancing its way to the dying dragon. At the same time, the demon hit the child in the head with a stick that had been nearby. He too, was temporarily enveloped by the light, reeling back from the burns the energy was giving him. The child however, fell back down into the ever-hungry blackness.

The fading heartbeat picked back up, a result of the water now washing over his body and running into his river. Another flash of light, white laced with silver, temporarily blinded the observing kami, as she hid her head in the clouds.

What she saw when she looked once more, filled her with both joy and sadness.

* * *

Ten coiled himself by the entrance to the above-ground world, nearly half-dead. Scales lay where they had fallen, chipped and broken, leaving behind exposed and abused flesh. His horns, too, were broken and chipped, marred by the number of lunges against the lodged rock sealing him in. He was aware of another blockage above, which would be simple to break, if only he had the strength left to move the boulder in his way. He would rest, then try again.

A white light filled the cavern, emanating from the statue that Ten could have sworn Kohaku had taken with him earlier. The essence of Kohakunushi that had been stored in it was now but a weak lingering, a half-ghost refusing to leave.

'What did he do?'

* * *

Kohakunushi felt himself coming back to his body, but something was terribly wrong. It wasn't that Chihiro was in danger, he already knew that. He didn't feel quite . . . whole.

'Am I dead? No, this hurts too much to be dead.'

Silently as possible, he sat up. For him, it was like having gotten caught in a net that could not fully be disentangled. He saw his charge unconscious, yet another bruise forming at her temple.

'She's probably not going to remember this with two head traumas. I've got to get her to a healer somehow.'

His sword was missing, if he could find it, one quick cut while the mongrel was bent over would end this. Whatever had happened, it must have been painful for the dog. Having made a swift search, where he found his sword was not what he was prepared for.

The boy could not have been more than twelve. Seeping wounds covered his body, sluggish streams of red seeking the greater river. The flesh, normally pale, was a shock-white and made paler by the contrast of raven-wing locks. A small moan escaped his blue-tinged lips, barely slipping from the child's throat. The eyes were closed, but something about the extreme similarity in the clothing between himself and the nearly dead boy before him made Kohakunushi positive that the eyes would be green.

'Is that me as a child? Oh, Kami, this is bad!'

Quicksilver fast, Kohakunushi wrenched the blade from his own fading hand, feeling chills pass up and down his spine at this act of robbery against himself. Rushing towards Greed, the dog had already straightened up, and although wounded, was able to block.

Changing tactics, Kohakunushi summoned the last of the river's flagging strength and called upon the waters of the storm to sustain him in this last desperate attempt to protect the human child as he had sworn to do.

After the dog demon had given chase, the she-dragon descended from the clouds to give what aid she could to the two children now before her.

* * *

Nyuuhakushoku was proud of her son, sacrificing himself so in the line of his duty. His actions brought great honor to his name and his family. The human girl would live, her only injuries mild scratches and the two blows to the head that she seemed to have suffered.

With a heavier heart, she turned to her son, now looking the way that she had last seen him all those many years ago. Carefully, she doctored him as best she could, but there was nothing that she could do for the now broken heart. That injury, resulting in a complete split between two parts of himself, would only be healed with time. With the trauma he had suffered this day, including blood loss, she did not think he would consciously remember it. If he did, it would most likely be a suppressed memory only visited in nightmares.

When she had done all that she could, it was time to sever this part of himself from the river. He would stand a better chance of surviving with a healthier energy source. Looking around for a suitable idea, her eyes fell on the girl. Spinning within her body, was a perfect white pearl, a direct channel of the energy of love. That would be perfect.

Carefully, the bond was made between the two beings, the formerly weaker of the pair now supporting the one who once was the stronger. In a sense, the unassuming being now was the Heart of the River.

"Rest my Children. Destiny is not done with you yet."

Sensing the approach of two beings, she pulled the human into her lap while casting a simultaneous invisibility spell on her son. It would not do for her mate to see their beloved child in such a state. When it was safe, she would take him where he could heal and be fairly safe.

Tatsu rushed to his mate's side when he saw her cradling the little human whose name did not come to mind. Koji was still tossed over his shoulder, not unlike a bag of vegetables except for his occasional hisses when a shoulder found its way into his gut. Shrugging a few feet away from her, the daitoku who had formerly been trying to see where they were going, was deposited heavily on the ground, complete with weaponry.

"Mate! Are you unharmed? What has happened?"

"Our son led the monster away from this child. She needs a human healer though, once who can better attend to her head wounds than I."

"Chihiro! Oh, my baby grandchild! I'll take her to the hospital right away.!"

A frown spread across the Mountain Lord's face as a drop of ink will bleed across paper.

"Daitoku! You have a responsibility to your people. This seems to be the demon's power center. Purify this area, when my son kills the beast we will purify the site of the slaying. I will take the child to a healer."

"Lord Tatsu! You aren't allowed to interfere according to rules of conduct. How would it affect the people's perception of their reality?"

"How would it affect their reality if an unrestrained mononoke with the power to assume human form decided it wanted to run rampant and eat them all? You brought the child to me in a time of distress, now I at least have the rights to influence her future."

The mountain dragon gathered the child from his mate, not noticing the bond of fate now running from the child to a point beside and behind the sea dragon. With barely a glance at the priest, he broke into a swift run, his feet following unseen lines of chi telling him just the way that he was to go for the hospital.

"He is right, you know. If you cut off its power base, not only will it be easier for Kohakunushi to fight it, it will be easier to cleanse the other site as well when this is over. I have an errand to run now. Fare well, Daitoku."

Nyuuhakushoku turned to scoop up a burden that was not visible to Koji's eyes, although the way she held herself made it seem rather heavy. Then, she became one with the clouds again, moving her storm farther inland and towards an objective only she knew.

"Somehow, I think the Lord and Lady are trying to hide something from me. Tatsu-sama is correct though. I will cleanse this site, then we shall see where I am to go."

* * *

Reviewer Corner:

Katsy Kat: That was quite the cliffhanger wasn't it? Thanks for the well wishes. I made it to evil authoress, must have really been a good chapter.

Fyraga: Does he or doesn't he? That would depend on your definition of life I guess. ::Hands Fyraga a big box of tissues.::

Every Bishounen's True love: Ok, I updated. Who choked to death here though, you or the cat? That was a confusing sentence (then again, I write those too).

NitenGale: S'all cool. Parental units do make the rules after all.


	19. Call the Healer!

Underwater Savior

Chapter 19: Call the Healer!

By: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Nyuuhakushoku flew as fast as she could, assuming her dragon form once more with her son carefully cradled in her forepaws. One of the best spirit healers in Japan was working as the herbalist and boiler-tender at the Aburaya bath house. If there was anyone who could help her offspring, Kamaji would be it.

The sudden storm sweeping upon the bath house took all of its denizens by surprise, many still outside as the first drops began to bomb the ground. The customers increased their speed, hoping to get in before they were completely soaked. Almost no one noticed the battered form in his abused formal robes laid out near the bridge.

A rotund and jolly radish spirit ambled towards the bridge. He and the carrot spirit were the last in the procession, enjoying the rain as plant spirits are wont to do. The dynamic duo were in the middle of a spritely conversation about growing conditions in the gardens they had finished visiting, when their eyes fell upon something strange.

"What have we here, brother Radish?"

"Judging by the clothing, I believe he is a young water lord of some kind brother Carrot. Look here at the waves on what survives of his trim. Probably either from the sea or a river."

"So badly hurt, and his clothing so torn . . . I wonder if he is another that has had his home ripped away."

"We can find out later, for now, let us take him inside and acquire the services of the healer."

The radish spirit carefully hefted the boy, doing his best not to aggravate the many wounds, which seemed to have been tended to in the rough fashion one would in the field. Astounded greeters watched with wide eyes as the spirit, never before seen to carry much of anything, tenderly transported the child out of the rain.

* * *

Tatsu had found the hospital quickly, legs rolling him in through the doors in the manner only one of great authority can achieve. The woman behind the front desk stood quickly.

"What happened?"

"I found this child near an old home in the woods. She is in need of medical attention."

"Do you know her name?"

"I think it is Chihiro."

The doors were swung open and he was escorted to the emergency room. Chihiro was deposited on one of the beds. When the attendant turned around to get any details from the mysterious man in the snowy, airy old robes, all that greeted him was the empty space where the man had been. A faint air current ghosted out of the door, leaving the man to wonder if perhaps the stories his mother had once told him about guardian spirits were real.

* * *

Koji had managed to exorcize the site finally. It had been difficult for him, as the monster had soaked up negative emotions for several generations. His hands had a few burns on them now, but it was done.

He was just glad that this demon was currently distracted, otherwise he would probably have had many more injuries than just some measly burns.

* * *

Kohaku had re-engaged Greed near the spring, the men having already quit for the day. Here, he would be a bit stronger, but not much now. It seemed that Greed, too, was a bit weaker, placing them fairly evenly matched now.

The two had been slicing and dodging for a while now, neither gaining any real advantage over the other. No advantage until Greed tripped that is. He found himself impaled on the dragon's sword, body already shutting down around him. Using almost the last of his strength, Kohakunushi slid his sword form the pitiful creature, watching as the glow left its haunted eyes.

The dog's physical form blew away, so much dust in the wind. The remainder of it's animating energy was left standing, a shadowy form that none could truly sense the shape of. Then it sank into the ground, seeking rest in the arms of the earth, only having enough energy left for one last attempt, but that would not be for years.

The sound of metal being torn from new hinges filled the ears of the river lord as he fell to the ground. Being at the very last of his strength, he collapsed into hibernation, disappearing to sight for a moment, then fading back in slowly.

The storm that had been raging, abated, and the river, only half-filled, flowed tiredly to the sea. This would be the last storm waters that the once proud river would drain in a long time to come.

* * *

Once Ten had extracted himself from the wreckage of what once capped his spring, he paused to survey any damage done to his pool. Noting nothing that really would harm him, he gave a silent thanks to whatever lightning kami had heard his cries.

Turning about to survey everything else to see what mischief he could wreak as his revenge, his eyes fell on the most disheartening sight he thought he would ever see.

His best friend lay as he had fell, drops of the rains still clinging to his face. Kohakunushi would need some serious healing, and a spare set of robes. Lucky for 'Nushi that Ten had his spare set of robes, and that he was decent with healing. Sure, 'Nushi had paid more attention when the healer taught them as pups, but Ten had sort of paid attention. Enough at least to help.

"'Nushi, you'd better tell me someday what just happened to you."

Far too exhausted to carry his friend, Ten instead settled for dragging the dragon in human form. Nushi had lost quite a bit of blood, but still was fairly heavy. With some difficulty, the pair made it into the waters of the spring. As the dragons went through the tunnel into Ten's realm, the water level in the spring dropped a bit, waters that once would flow through the above ground river turning to flow underground, or to pool in a special room to sustain the injured master of the now lost Kohaku river.


	20. Awaken

Underwater Savior

Chapter 20: Awaken

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Koji, Yuukio, and Akio had been taking turns for the past month in sitting beside Chihiro, hoping that she would wake soon. Little Lily and the rest of the Tanaka family had visited every day. The police never had figured out what had separated the doting grandfather and much beloved granddaughter that fateful day, but speculations had been made about the possible connection between the grisly murder at the Mahou residence and the attack on the Ogino's. Due to the nature of the crimes though, they were just that, speculation.

The combination of the two head blows had left the child unconscious for this whole time, and the police had lost hope in ever hearing the girl's testimony. The girl had several close calls with a flat-line, even though there seemed to be no physical reason for her to come so close.

Currently, Koji sat by the bed worrying. He had not been able to find were Kohakunushi had killed Greed, and had not been able to stir the dragon one bit. It seemed that somehow he had gone into the Sacred Spring, but the Spring god refused to tell him how the river's dragon was doing. All he could get from the stubborn spirit was that he was resting and badly injured.

Needless to say, because of this, the final site remained uncleansed.

A moan floated through the room, causing the man to rip his eyes from the line of fresh earth where the river once played.

"Chihiro? How are you honey?"

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital honey. You got hurt."

"Oh. How'd I get hurt grandpa?"

"I don't know dear."

A soft click echoed through the room, like a cog on the great wheel of fate moving one space. A nurse came in, in the quietened manner one assumes when entering the room of an Alzheimer's patient or someone who has something equally serious.

"Finally awake are you Miss Ogino? I'm glad, the staff was all worried about you. I need to check your vitals honey."

The woman did as she said she would. Then proceeded to see if there was any possible brain damage.

"So, how old are you dear?"

"I'm 3!"

Koji flinched at that. She had celebrated her 4th birthday three months ago now. He wondered just how much of her memory had been wiped out.

The nurse made some notes and left.

"Can I go play with Kohaku now?"

"I don't think so honey."

The child got out of the bed, paying no heed to the machines that had been monitoring her.

"Why not? I feel fine, and it's such a . . . pretty . . . day? Where'd the river go?"

"It's gone dear."

Large tears streamed from her eyes as she surveyed the brown, ugly dirt where her friend's home had once been. How could this have happened? Just the other day they had been roaming the woods together, he playing music for her to dance to, no cares in the world except for a few mosquitoes.

"What happened?"

"Progress dear."

Chihiro didn't miss the sadness in his voice, sour and bitter as medicine.

"Is Kohaku ok?"

"I don't know."

The child drug herself back to her bed, drooping and swaying like the weeping willow in a breeze. Her eyes deepened in their brown color, the light extinguished, not even a trace of the grey tones that they took on when she was close to her nature.

"Suddenly, I'm very tired now Ji-chan."

* * *

Deep below the Spring, Nushi, the aspect of the River Lord that retained his older and wiser parts, had also awoken from healing sleep. He had found himself in fresh robes, surrounded by some of the waters that would have fed his river. The healing magics used in the room left the air heavy with the smells of the elements, most notably the water that he was.

He was aware of the loss of the river, feeling buried beneath the tons of earth and debris deposited in his water-form's body. He was also vaguely aware of a sense of loss that did not emanate from himself. It had a feminine signature to it, and he wondered if it was possibly the little girl who he had nearly given his life for.

'Chihiro.'

He still didn't feel completely whole, and wondered why until he remembered looking down at himself as a child just before the verge of pubescence. It was a frightening thought, that he had lost not only his physical vessel, but his innocence as well. To him though, it was worth it, some small measure of what he cared for would hopefully live its life.

Small splashes sounded as his friend entered the chamber he was in. The spring dragon had never been one for subtly, instead always choosing to make himself known in the simplest of ways. It wasn't that Ten couldn't move through the water without sound, it was just that he liked commotion.

"Good to see you back. You faded in and out so many times I thought you were going to fade from existence completely."

"Good to be back."

His words barely cleared his lips, despite the fact they were far from parched. His body may have been healed, but that did not mean that his energy reserves were anywhere near normal.

"There's still part of your presence missing I see. What happened?"

"How is Chihiro?"

"Resting comfortably in the hospital. With as many times as you called out for her, I figured I'd better know before you woke up."

The river dragon's eyes closed, meaning only to signify his relief. His body had other plans for him though, as from there he slipped back into slumber.

"Guess I get to wait a bit longer for my answer."

* * *

Kamaji had been dismayed at the extent of the injuries, and did what he could for the young Lord who's name was unknown. No one had been able to identify the boy, any more than that he was important.

What frightened the spider spirt most he could not tell. Was it the injuries themselves, or the fact the boy would sometime fade out of view, as if he was passing into the realm of death and then being pulled back. Each time this happened, Kamaji could faintly see a thread of white energy wrapped around a red fate-string, tugging and pulling.

Kohaku had long been moved into the boiler room, both to chase away the perpetual chill he had and so that the healer / boiler man could keep a constant eye on him. Lin had made sure that his robes were washed and mended, and it was in these serviced clothes that he awoke.

"Chihiro? Are you ok?"

'He's been calling for this person every day. I wonder if he had been with this person when whatever happened, happened.'

The boy sat up, grimacing as one hand went to his chest. After a moment, his surroundings sunk in.

"Where is she? Where am I?"

'So this Chihiro is a she.'

"I don't know any Chihiro, but I can tell you where you are. You are at Aburaya. The radish and carrot spirit found you and brought you for healing."

"I have to get home. Chihiro is in trouble!"

The boy shot to his feet, only to fall again as so much water without a bucket.

"Not like that you aren't. I'm sure that she's already gotten help. You've been here for a month now."

"No! I must get HOME! I have to perform my DUTY!"

The boy got to his feet again, this time not only keeping them, but finding strength from somewhere to leave. He winked out of sight only to have a smallish white and green dragon standing in his place. Kamaji listened as the child left, flinging doors open to slam behind him. The small door beneath the cabinets opened, and Lin came in with food for Kamaji, broth for the unknown boy, and the food for the susuwatari.

"Where's the kid?"

"Said he was going home, something about duty."

"Any idea what happened to the kid?"

"Nearest I can gather, he was with some girl called Chihiro when he got hurt. He said she was in trouble."

"Why didn't you try to stop him?"

"He may still be weak, but there's no way I'm foolish enough to try to stop a dragon."

"The kid's a dragon?


	21. Around the River Bend is Future

Underwater Savior

Chapter 21: Around the River Bend is Future

by: LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it. Hey, at least the plots in my stories are mine!

* * *

Chihiro didn't remember any of the events connected with the monster, and Koji was rather glad about that. So was Nushi, who watched over the child from within the spring, not being able to leave the spring itself as his river no longer flowed.

Kohaku returned to the bath house, unable to find his home and his human, and also unable to recall the monster and his events. He became Yubaba's apprentice to her magic and the bath house itself, believing that if he could just get stronger he could find his river and his human again. Having signed Yubaba's contract, he became Haku, though he struggled to recall his true name. The only name he could remember didn't belong to him though. It was his human's, Chihiro.

He tried to escape one day, desperate to see that she was alright. Yubaba then tricked him into eating a slug after he recovered from that, having hidden it in a dumpling she said was enchanted to make him stronger. When the slug got its hold on him, he forgot much about his human, believing her to only be a fantasy to ease his loneliness.

After all, since when did spirits make friends with humans.

Time passed by for Haku, taken up by training, bath house duties, babysitting and missions.

Time also passed for Nushi, and he watched in despair as illness began to take hold among his children, some strains mutating into something deadly enough to kill some. Using the energy he was storing finally, he used spells to heal his little friend each time she caught one of the super bugs, but she had a perpetual flush to her cheeks from the recurrent infections. Chihiro's parents moved, trying to keep her from catching any more illness. Nushi watched her leave through his mirror, wondering if he would ever be able to soothe her fears again.

That day, Haku found her on the bridge, Yubaba's hold on him weakening with the return of his source. Fearing for her safety, he later helped her get back to her world, allowing her to run through his fingers, but not before making her a promise.

The next summer, and every summer after that until she reached her 17th year, she returned to the Kohaku community, and to him though she didn't know it. With each progress she made on returning his river to the surface, both Kohaku and Nushi felt themselves grow stronger.

Then something happened that filled Nushi with great joy.

"Chihiro, please. I will need a Miko, and not only do you have more training than the other candidates, you are also a blood descendant."

"Sure Grandfather, I'll help out at the new Shrine. I'll just need to arrange my hours around my classes. I can't do much until the river is running though."

"Don't worry Chi! Just another year and we'll see all that sparkly water again if we keep to the schedule."

"I guess that means I get to lug more rock doesn't it, BlowingWind?"

"That's right Ryu."

"Wonderful! Just wait until the other Shrines hear my little granddaughter is going to be the Miko!"

* * *

The End of Underwater Savior 


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